A Princess Amongst Thieves
by DragonoftheEastblue
Summary: Hinata, a lost princess from the southern kingdom wonders lost in the far northern mountains. She is then saved by Naruto, the leader of a gang of thieves. Naruto surprises them all with his decision of escorting her back to the south. Inspired Bone
1. Chapter 1: Midnight Rescue

Author's Note:

Okay so i guess you're wondering why am i starting a new story. Well, i'm actually taking a small break from SFE (please dont kill me!) So i decided to write at least the first chapters to my other fanfics that i have written in my profile. I hope you'll enjoy them. So i bring to you know my second mega fanfic, **A Princess Amongst Thieves**

A Princess Amongst Thieves

Chapter 1: Midnight Rescue

It was very dark thanks to the heavy rain; dark enough that one could barely see the light coming out from the buildings of the village. Besides the pounding of the rain, the village was completely quiet. Then a loud slam was heard from a local tavern where someone had been thrown out landing in the mud. From the open tavern doors stood a tall man with massive muscles with no hair on his head and covered with scares. Smoke oozed out from his mouth and he fumed in anger.

"If ya ever pull that stunt again in our town I'll kill ya boy!" he shouted before turning his back to the man covered in mud. The man sighed as he rose to his feet.

"Perfect. I had just had to piss him off" he grumbled but he smiled. From his long muddy sleeve he pulled out a small sac filled with gold coins, "At least I still got what I came for." Just before he had been thrown out of the tavern, the man had won a large pot at a game of cards. But when he tried to claim his winnings, the tall man who had thrown him out accused him of cheating and attacked him. Knowing that fighting here would only give him trouble, he evaded the first attack and hit a bystander tricking him that the tall mad had done it.

In a matter of seconds the tavern erupted into an old fashion salon fight. The man quickly grabbed his money and slipped it in his deerskin coin pouch and hid it in his sleeve. But when he tried to escape, the tall man grabbed him by the back of the neck. The young man was spun round facing the fuming tall man.

"Where the fuck ya think yor goin'!?" he spat. The younger man cringed as he could smell the mans alcohol breath.

"Well it's getting late…" began the young man but the drunken man didn't wait for an answer and punched him in the jaw sending him flying backwards. Before the young man could catch his wind the tall man grabbed him by the shirt with one hand and the belt in another raising him above his head. He then hurled the young man through the doors crashing into the mud.

And that was basically what happened. The young man shivered as a cold wind blew through the storm. Water and mud was getting through his old tattered leather boots soaking his already ruined socks. Even though he had his hands in his pockets they weren't getting warm. On top of that his leather hat had a hole in the side letting the rain in. All he wanted to do was have a warm meal, clean himself off and hit the sac.

"No…stop!" came a voice from an alleyway. The man stopped to listen and heard the voice again. It was barely audible due to the rain but there was defiantly someone calling for help. He rushed to the alleyway where he saw a young woman around his age beginning pressed against the wall of a building by a large man grinning as he tried to kiss her.

"Common lass, let's have us a kiss" he said trying to get his face near hers. The girl managed to her one hand free and slapped the fat man across the face. He growled in anger and slapped her with the back of his hand knocking down where she hit her head knocking her unconscious. Angry at her disobedience he began undoing his belt and was about to lower himself on his "prize" when a knife came flying past his face embedding itself in the wooden wall of the building. The man spun around.

"Who they fuck arr ya?" he shouted. The young man walked into the alleyway with a look made to freeze lava.

"You tried to rape that girl," he said coldly, "Prepare to die." The fat man roared and was about to charge at the young man but he had already sprinted to ward him and brought him his right fist in a massive upper cut. The large man was knocked out before her could feel the pain of his broken jaw as he crumbled to the wet ground.

The young man grabbed his knife was about to cut out the unconscious mans black heart when he noticed the young girl was shivering. He knew she was going to get sick if she stayed out here much longer; and he for that matter. He quickly put his knife back in its sheath on the side of his left boot and scooped the girl in his arms bridal style. He decided to place his hat on her head trying to give her some relief from the cold rain. He ran briskly toward an old barn and used his foot to open on of the doors.

"Yo I'm back" he called. Inside the barn was a group of four people plus on large white dog around a small fire. Behind them was a caravan with three horses resting and eating hay. One of the group members looked up at him.

"Yo Naruto" he said. He then noticed the woman in his arms, he whistled "Whoa ho, did you buy yourself a woman?" he said grinning. Naruto used the tip of his boot to press on the back on his boot heel too loosen it enough to kick his boot at his friend; hitting him square in the face.

"Shut up Kiba" Naruto said placing the girl in a pile of straw and reached for a blanket to cover her. It was then he noticed her face, her very beautiful face.

He blushed slightly but decided it was best not to stare. He walked over to the fire where a pot was being suspended keeping the stew hot. He took a bowl and used a ladle to pour in the thick beige soup into it then sitting next to the fire. He took a sip of it.

"Ah good ol' gruel. Thanks Choji" he said to a large built mad with long spiky read hair.

"Well if I had the right ingredients I could you make us something decent; even your favorites" he shot back frowning. Naruto's mouth drooled at the thought of Choji's top cooking. He used one hand to reach into his sleeve to pull out the sac of coins and whipped it at a young man sitting at a make shift desk with long spiky black hair tied in a ponytail and a pair of glass at the base of his nose. With out taking his eyes off his reading, the man caught the sac and gave the sac a squeeze. He then let it fall onto the desk.

"150 gold pieces. That's all?" he asked, again not shifting his eyes.

"It's all I could get" said Naruto putting down his bowl and folding his arms, "One of the bastards I was playing with called me a cheater and started busting the place. I grabbed what I could from the pot and ran, but the son of a bitch punched me!" he shouted point to his now bruising jaw.

"Are you alright boss?" asked a young man roughly Naruto age. He sat with his back against the barn wall cross legged and his armed folding across his cheat with a long sword resting inside his arm against his chest. He wore a read bandana across his forehead letting his black hair spill over it with a matching red cloak buttoned at the throat (a/n: he basically looks like Vincent Valentine).

"Ya I'm fine Sasuke" he said talking off his fingerless leather gloves that went up to his elbows and his muddy shirt revealing his toned body. He stood up and walked over to a rain barrel and dunked his head in washing out the mud revealing his long spiky blond hair.

"Thank you for ruining our drinking water!" snapped Choji seriously considering stabbing his friend with his cooking knives.

"Oh common it's raining we can refill it latter" said Naruto nonchalantly as he shook the water out of his eyes and hair and sat back down to his meal.

"So, are you going to tell us about _that?_" the man with the glasses asked pointing at the unconscious girl without lifting his eye from his newspaper. The rest of the group then turned to take a good look at the girl. And what a view it was.

Kiba whistled, "Whoa she's hot! She damn cute too." The others couldn't help but agree. With a perverted grin on his face Kiba made his way to the young woman but Naruto waked him in the thigh giving him a Charlie horse.

"Oi what the fuck was that for?!"

Naruto grunted in his stew, "You can't score on conscious girls so you're going after unconscious ones? That's a new low Kiba." Fuming Kiba sat back down.

"I wasn't really going to do anything" he mumbled. At this point, the man at the desk decided to look up at the girl. He froze.

Sasuke noticed this, "What's wrong Shikamaru?"

Shikamaru's glasses slide a little father down his nose, "Guys…you might want to check this out." The others walked over to Shikamaru and looked at his newspaper. On it was a picture of a beautiful young woman with long indigo hair and pearl white eyes.

"Hey it's her" said Choji pointing to the unconscious girl.

"That's not all" Shikamaru said pointing to the bottom of the picture, "She's the princess of the southern kingdom. Naruto and his crew snapped head from the picture to the girl.

"How can we be sure it's her?" asked Sasuke.

Shikamaru read the bottom of the portrait until he found something. "It says that she has a birthmark bellow her right shoulder-"

"Yosh I'll take care thi-" began Kiba but was elbowed in the ribs by Naruto.

"Now what the fuck was that for!!"

"I'll do it."

"What!?"

"I found her I'll do" replied Naruto.

"What you mean you found her?!" shot back Kiba.

"I saved her from some fat ass trying to rape her. To the hero go the soils" he said walked over to the princess and genteelly pulled off her blanket leaving her top half exposed. He slowly pulled down the left shoulder strap of her dress revealing some of her ample bust and was about to see her birth mark when he felt a huge amount of pain.

"AHHH HAHA!" he yelled clutching his groin. The other looked at him in surprise and began to laugh when they saw that the princess had awakened and kicked their boss in the groin. Their laughter died down when they noticed there was a knife in her hands. Naruto raised his head and saw the knife. He glanced at his boot; his knife was missing.

"Oi your highness, there's no need for violence" he said standing up and looked down at her; he was a good head taller than her.

"H-How did you know I'm a princess hentai!" she demanded. Though she was angry, she had a very nice voice.

"It was in the papers" said Naruto, "And I'm no hentai. It says you have a birth mark on your shoulder. I was just making sure it was true. If anything Kiba's the hentai."

"Oi teme!" shouted Kiba. The princess then looked around her.

"W-Where am I? What happened to-"

"The fat bastard? I took care of him after he knocked you out. He's taking a nap in the mud the swine."

The princess relaxed a little, "You…saved me?"

"Yup" smiled Naruto warmly, "Now give me the knife."

The girl tensed again bringing the knife up with both hands, "N-No! Stay back!"

Naruto took a step forward, "Girls shouldn't be playing with knives."

"I-I'm warning you!" threatened the girl but Naruto saw how she was shaking that she wouldn't stab him. He then grabbed her wrists and forced himself on top of her causing them to fall on the straw. The princess tried to break free or at least stab Naruto but he quickly let go of her hand not holding the knife and twisted the knife out of her other hand.

"Now then," he said tossing the knife to the side, "Why don't you be a good princess and stay quiet and ladylike so we can figure out what we're going to do with you." She was about to protest when Naruto cut her off, "Or you can go back outside in the rain an either end up dead in a ditch or looking after a couple of kids long before your daddy's armies get up here. Your royal blood means shit in these parts. So take your pick." That made the girl stay quiet.

"OK," said Naruto standing up, "Now first things first, what your name?"

"Hyuuga Hinata" she replied.

"There was that so hard? Now then, how bout you tell us how you got all the way out in the Northern Dragon Scale Mountains?"

This time Hinata stayed silent. "Look," said Naruto squatting down so that their eyes were level, "I saved your virginity, the least you could do if tell me how you got in this mess." Hinata blushed at the mention of her virginity but decided to answer the blond.

"There was a civil war a few months ago. I suppose you haven't heard of it?" Her mentioning the war caused the others to tense up but Naruto remained calm.

"Nope. Even we mountain boys heard about that. Those thieves creamed your daddy's armies real good" said Naruto.

Hinata frowned, "There were heavy causalities on both sides yes but we still forced the thieves' army into a retreat. That's the reason I'm here. To keep me safe my father had me sent to a powerful friend in the east to watch over me."

"This friend in the east, it wouldn't happen to be the Dragon of the East now would it?" asked Shikamaru.

"Yes but my transport was intercepted and I've been traveling on my own since."

"Uh huh" said Naruto, "Well thank you for that your highness" he said taking a gentleman's bow, "My colleagues and I have to discuss a few matters. Excuse me." He turned round and walked to the pot and filled a bowl with stew and handed it to Hinata. She looked at if with disgust. Naruto laughed, "Eat. You'll feel better" he said before turning to his friends where they huddled together.

"What are we going to do with her?" asked Choji.

"Keeping her with us is dangerous and too damn troublesome" said Shikamaru smashing his fist on the table.

"Well we can't just leave her here" said Kiba trying to sound sincere.

"Shut up! All you want to be is get in her dress" snapped Shikamaru.

"Oh like you don't" shot back Kiba.

Shikamaru pulled off his glasses, "Yes I don't because I have dignity and self esteem!"

"Dude you hang out with us you don't have self esteem" added Naruto with a smirk. Kiba laughed and was about to get punched by Shikamaru when Sasuke spoke up.

"Enough! This is a serious matter" he said turning to Naruto, "Sir, though it's not right to leave a vulnerable woman like her out here, I agree with Shikamaru that her traveling with us is both a danger to us as it is to the plan. She already knows too much and she's bound to find out more."

"I know" said Naruto. He looked over his shoulder to the princess. She took a sip of the stew and made a face due to its bitter taste. When she opened her eyes he saw that she as scared, terrified even. There was pain and loneliness in there too. Feelings Naruto knew all too well. He sighed, "Alright."

"Your ladyship," he said getting Hinata's attention making her put down her bowl. "We've discussed the matter and have come to the conclusion that we…" he paused for effect, "…are to escort you back to the Southern Kingdom."

"WHAT!!?!?!" shouted his crew. Hinata looked up with renowned hope in her eyes.

"Th-Thank yo-" she began.

"However," he said bringing his right index finger, "When we return you to your lovely castle, we want full compensation for our services. It is a long way down and we are bound to meet thieves, barbarians, monsters and so forth. Not to mention another mouth to feed. So, do we have an accord?" he said holding out his hand.

Hinata looked at his dirty hand with hesitation. But knowing her options there was nothing she could do. She shook his hand.

"Excellent! Now eat" he said lifting up her bowl. He laughed loudly as she wrinkled her nose.

* * *

so here it is hope u guys like it cuz it was a pleasure to write


	2. Chapter 2: You've Got Yourself A Deal

Author's Note:

Don't wrry im gonna start working on chapter 11 of SFE now k? One thing i need to say before u start reading is that as u may have noticed, the characters are a little OOC. this with change slightly through out the story. and if u would, i'd like you to give suggestions to who the Dragon of the East should be.

Chapter 2: You've Got Yourself A Deal

Though Hinata wanted to argue that leaving town already with all this rain was not something she wanted to do, she decided to stay quiet and cooperated with her escorts. Naruto and his gang placed their few belongings into the wagon and hitched the horses. Hinata, Choji, Kiba and Shikamaru were in the wagon with Sasuke at the reigns. Naruto on the other hand was riding in from of the wagon on his own horse. Even though Naruto's clothes hadn't fully dried and was undoubtedly cold he still rode in the pouring rain.

After an hour or so riding, Naruto decided that they were far enough from the village. He quickly unhitched the horses and tied them under some trees to give them some cover from the rain. Doing his best to keep them tried, he placed some large thick blankets over them to keep them warm. Due to the rain, the entire gang had to sleep inside the wagon and with the gear still inside, it made a snug shelter.

Hinata wanted to shout out in frustration. This was not the way a princess should live, cramped in a wagon with 5 sweaty men (a/n: though I suspect some readers would ^^). She wanted to be back in her queen size four poster bed; at least there she could sleep easily. But as fate would have it the events of the day had tired her out more than she thought and she quickly fell asleep.

xXx

Over the course of the night, the rain had finally stopped. Birds were singing as the sun poured its sunlight over the damp landscape. Naruto was still asleep in the wagon. His breathing was light as he peacefully slept. Though as peaceful as his sleeping was, he would not sleep so soundly for long. Kiba ran as fast as he could to the wagon and jumped practically into it.

"Boss! We have a problem with the princess!" he shouted urgently.

Naruto groaned as he awoke sitting up and rubbed his right eye, "What she already rejected you? Hat's a new record Kiba" he said drowsily. He didn't know what time it was but he knew he should be asleep.

"No that's not it! I mean she's missing!"

That woke Naruto up. "What!" he shouted jumping out of the wagon landing barefoot in the wet grass. He grabbed Kiba by the collar, "What do you mean she's missing?"

Kiba panicked seeing the look in his boss' eyes, "She's gone! She was sleeping in the wagon when we woke up but then when Choji came to get food for breakfast he saw she was gone. We don't know where she is."

Naruto let go of his friend and cursed, "Get the others and fan out. Find her!" Kiba nodded and took off into the woods. Naruto gritted his teeth as he sprinted into the wood in the opposite direction that Kiba went.

"Damn that wench!" he shouted disappearing into the brush. Unfortunately for him, he failed to notice the evenly folded piece of paper addressed to the "Blond Hentai" under the seat of the wagon.

xXx

Hinata shivered as she slowly dipped her body into the lake. It was freezing but she would endure it. It was better to be cold and clean than cold and dirty. When she final was used to the water she slowly began cleaning herself, rubbing away the sweat and grim from her body and hair. She had a feeling that on of those men would be spying on her if she had told them what she was doing. She hopped she would be able to sneak back without them noticing her disappearance.

She let out a sigh and she began washing her hair. She shouldn't be thinking about that right now. She should be relaxing. To calm her nerves from her predicament, she began humming a tune that she had known all her life.

xXx

Naruto grumbled and cursed under his breath as he made his way through the woods. If he had known this girl would have caused him so much trouble he may not have decided to bring her home. She was causing trouble on the first day. May the gods help him if this was how it would be all the way down to the South.

He wacked away a branch from hitting his face as he pushed foreword in his search for the princess. Unfortunately the branch he had shoved caused a large leaf full of rain water to fall on top of him. He stood still and growled as he wiped the water out of his eyes moving his long wet hair from blocking his view. He then shivered. With all the water, the cool morning made everything feel colder than it was, and it wasn't helping was has only wearing long pants and a thin cloth shirt. He had been so mad that Hinata had disappeared he had forgotten to change.

As his anger grew, he then heard something that made his feet stay rooted to their spot. Someone was humming. Someone with a beautiful voice was humming. Humming a tune he knew all too well. Just as it had stopped him from moving, it made his legs walk towards the hypnotic humming till he was about a few yards away from the bank of a river. He then saw something beyond this world.

In the lake stood a nude beautiful young woman with long indigo hair. She was humming the song Naruto had known for as long as he could remember as she washed her long hair. Though all Naruto could do was stare, it took him a few moments to realize that it was Hinata he was staring at. He felt his jaw drop slightly. Naruto had to admit, he had seen and slept with some pretty impressive women, but she was in a whole different league.

Even though all he could see was her back, there was still a lot to be seen. Her skin was smooth with no flaws what so ever. While she was under water from the waist down, Naruto could still make out her wide and alluring hips along with a curvaceous rear. Her hair was long enough that it nearly reached that rear and even at the distance Naruto was from her, it appeared to be as smooth as silk. Though her hips were wide her waist was slim giving her a hourglass shape body as Naruto noticed some of her large breasts showing from the sides. Only two words expressed the situation: Oh My.

Naruto tried to move to get a better look but unfortunately stepped on a twig making a loud snap. To his amazement Hinata spun around and threw something at his direction. It embedded itself a few inches from his head in the tree on his right. He looked to see it was a knife; _his_ knife. Hinata kept her arms wrapped round her body doing her best to hide her large breasts.

"W-Who's there?" she demanded. Naruto, finally out of his daze took control of the situation and remember what he was supposed to, stepped out of the brush revealing himself. Hinata's checks burned as she realized she was standing naked in front of a young man. And one she had a bone to pick with.

"H-H-Hentai!" she shouted plunging her body into the water so that only her head was above the water. Naruto gritted his teeth.

"Oi I'm not a hentai teme!" he said pulling his knife free.

"Ya right. You were spying on me!" snapped Hinata, still blushing.

"Well ya think I had a choice? You taking off like that without us knowing. What if some thieves attacked you? What were you thinking?" said Naruto fuming.

Hinata was angry, "What do you mean? You didn't know I left? I left a note!"

Naruto froze, "A what?"

"A note! I left in under the seat of the wagon!" she shouted. Naruto frowned and blushed a little at his mistake. He folded his arms.

"I saw no note" he said.

"Oh I'm sure you did," scoffed Hinata, "Would you like me to prove it?"

Naruto gave a single nod and stood at the bank waiting. There were a few moments of awkward silence.

"Well are you coming out?" asked Naruto tapping his foot in annoyance.

"I-I can't with you looking. Turn around!" shouted Hinata. Naruto spun around continuing to tap his foot. She was really starting in bug him. Even though he heard the water splashing as she got out of the lake, he was too mad to sneak a peak at her perfect body. He waited a few minutes before hearing the princess give the all clear. He turned around to see her wearing her dress, which he noticed was clean.

'Must have washed it' Naruto thought. Without speaking to him, Hinata walked past him heading toward the campsite. They walked in silence for the 10 minute walk. When they finally arrived they saw no one had returned from their search. Not wasting anytime, Hinata stormed over to the wagon and pulled out the note from the seat and held it out to the blood.

"Here. Just as I said" she huffed. Naruto didn't look at it. Instead he was glaring at a tree. "Well? Aren't you going to read it?' she demanded. Still frowning Naruto snatched the letter from her hand and opening it staring at the paper. Unfortunately Hinata noticed.

"You're not even reading it!" she accused.

"I am!" he snapped.

"No you're not!" she said pointing at him with a slender finger, "Your eyes aren't moving." Naruto felt his jaw clench tight. He them mumbled something.

"What was that?" demanded Hinata.

"I can't read" he said annoyed. At that instant, Hinata face softened felt a tremendous amount of guilt wash over her.

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't know" she said with a sad look. Naruto closed his eyes. There it was. The same look of pity. The same pity others had given him. He didn't want their pity. This was why he hated the upper-class. Always thinking the world was like their perfect little lives and feeling sorry for the ones living with nothing. It made him sick.

"But how can you-" she began but was cut off.

"We don't have schools up here" he said, "Almost no body can read here. It's a miracle if you find a book or a newspaper." Naruto opened his eyes and felt him stomach turn. He looked into her eyes and saw that the look she was giving him wasn't pity. She genuinely sad and sorry for what she said and assumed. Naruto began feeling guilty. He shouldn't have yelled at her and jumping to conclusions. He sighed.

"Look. I'm sorry for acting like a jerk. It's just that I get that from people like you, the upper-class. I judged you too quickly, you're not like them. Out of the five of us, Shikamaru is the only one who can read. As a kid he was lucky to be taken in by a man who owned a small book store so the owner taught him. The rest of us never saw it as something useful, at least up here anyway. It was more logical to sharpen our skills in combat.

"And speaking of which you need to tell us if you're going to wonder. You could easily be ambushed by people like the swine in town. It's my- I mean our job to bring you back down south safely" he said. Why was he being so honest with her? He couldn't fully trust her could he? And why did he feel so comfortable around her? He didn't understand but it felt good. Then Hinata got an idea.

"I'll teach you" she said. Naruto blinked.

"W-What?" asked Naruto incredulously.

"I'll teach you how to read. You said they're no schools here so I'll teach you" she said with a kind smile. Naruto scratched his head thinking about it. As much as he hated it, it would be nice if he could read. He was about to agree when Hinata spoke up.

"But on one condition" she said holding up a finger, "I'll teach you to read if you teach me how to fight." This was something Naruto was not expecting.

"I refuse" he said shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Why?" demanded Hinata placing her hands on her hips pouting. Naruto was doing his best not to laugh. She was very cute like that. "You said so yourself that I could have been attack. But if I learn how to fight I won't be helpless" she added. Her eye narrowed, "Is it because I'm a woman?"

Naruto swallowed, "No that's not-Ok yes a little. I don't like seeing women get hurt. That's why I almost killed the bastard who hit you. Call it a macho thing if you want. It's my code and your not going to change that." Hinata continued to stand there. Hands on her hips and lips pursed. He sighed. She was becoming the one opponent he couldn't beat.

"Alright then" he said. He pulled his right hand from his pocket and spat loudly in it and handing it out to the princess. Hinata looked disgusted and confused. Naruto nodded his head to his hand. Hinata slowly leaned over and tried to spit in Naruto hand.

"Your _own _hand" he said rolling his eyes. Hinata blushed at her mistake and gentle spat in her hand. She held it out slowly but was quickly grasped by Naruto hand causing her to squirm a little feeling their saliva smash together between their hands.

"You've got yourself a deal" Naruto said with a grin letting go from their handshake. Hinata then tried wiping off the spit with some leaves. Naruto burst out laughing. he then raised his hand.

"Oh and by the way" he said holding up his knife, "This is the second time you've taken my knife. Don't do that."

Hinata raised an eyebrow, "A student shouldn't tell his teacher what to do."

"Hai Sensei" he said smiling. Hinata smiled back.

* * *

review if u would. chapter 11 of SFE should be out next week


	3. Chapter 3: Take Aim

Author's Note:

Yo everyone! This chapters was gonna be out sooner by with my full time job it's getting busy plus i got accepted into college so more school *sob*

Anyways enjoy the chapter and please don't forget to visit the poll on my profile page to vote on who should be the dragon of the east. If u chose 'other' please make the subject dragon of the east poll when u message me

Chapter 3: Take Aim

To say that they were surprised of Naruto taking up reading lessons would be an understatement. Not to mention that in return he'd be willing to teach the princess to fight was even more of a shock. What was causing their boss to be so open? Could he of all people slowing being undone by a woman?

The upside of this odd partnership is that here were no more mishaps involving the princess. If she had to go somewhere, to bathe or otherwise, she would have an escort. Even though it had been a few days since the incident at the lake, the group was still a far way from clearing the Hayashi no Zokunen (Forest of Unholy Desires). Since the journey was going to be as long as it was, Hinata had decided to start giving Naruto his lessons now.

"And this is the kanji for 'flower'" she said using a quill to write the character on a sheet of paper. Naruto and Hinata were sitting in the driver's seat of the wagon. Before Naruto could start reading he would need to learn to write. "And this is the kanji for 'rei', spirit."

"I thought you said it was the kanji for 'zero'?" said Naruto resting his head in his left palm and pointed at the kanji with his right finger.

"It is."

Naruto frowned. "Well that's just confusing."

"The kanji for spirit and rei are the same. There are many characters like that in our language" explained Hinata.

"That's even more confusing," said Naruto looking at his nails, "Not to mention maddeningly unhelpful."

The princess frowned and pointed to the other characters written on the paper. "It's not that confusing and it's not unhelpful. Having more similar characters that have different meaning mean ultimately that you have less to learn…" she said turning to her pupil but her eye began to twitch when she saw he wasn't paying attention. His eyes were on a pair of butterflies fluttering a few meters away from the wagon. Hinata sighed and placed her temples in her hand rubbing them. She then heard the others chuckle, as if they knew that teaching Naruto to read and write would be very difficult.

And it was. For that last few days she had made little progress in getting the blond thief to read. He seemed so distracted and lost that when he did pay attention it was obviously a strenuous action for him. He acted just like a child. So carefree, and wild and…free. He had want she wanted most. The freedom to do what she when she wanted. How she longed for that freedom.

Hinata decided that the lessons could wait. She began folding up the papers they had used for their lessons and placed them under her bed roll. "Class is dismissed" she said disembarking from the wagon. This caught Naruto's attention.

"Since my lessons are over," he said, "Why don't we get to the other half of our bargain?"

Hinata looked at him and blinked, as if she had forgotten. "You mean…my fighting lessons?"

Naruto jumped off the wagon and walked to the young princess, "We had an accord didn't we?" Hinata smiled and gestured from him to lead the way. Naruto walked to the back of the wagon and grabbed a large bundle of brown cloth. He then began to walk with Hinata tailing him until they reached a clearing where there was a fresh water stream that they had refilled their supply earlier. The blond dropped the bundle and turned to his pupil.

"Alright then," he said folding his arms, "Welcome to your first combat lesson. Before we get to any actual weapons we'll start with basic hand to hand combat. Then we'll move on to what weapon you feel comfortable with and if it is in my knowledge and expertise, which it will most likely be, I'll train you, savvy?"

Hinata nodded.

"Good. Now then, I take it you have no past knowledge of combat whatsoever correct?"

Hinata nodded again, "Hai. It is not proper for a princess to fight or learn combat. Even when I tried to get my cousin to teach be combat, he was ordered not to."

Naruto pulled out a leather case and opened it pulling out a cigarette. He stuck it in his mouth and scrapped a match on the base of his boot to ignite it. "Typical," he said lighting his cigarette and flicking the match into the stream. "Alright then, let's see if you can throw a punch," he said taking a drag from and exhaling the smoke holding it between two fingers.

Hinata's hands balled up into fists as she began throwing punched at the blond. Naruto merely leaned out of the way, gingerly smoking his cigarette. This would not have irritated the young princess so much if he was not dodging with ease, _with his eyes closed_. She relentlessly attacked but was getting nowhere and she was already out of breath. Naruto noticed this and opened his eyes.

"Well I think we can safely say hand-to-hand combat is not you" he said blowing out more smoke. Hinata, now very irritated, threw one last punch at Naruto, aiming right for his face. Faster than she believed possible, Nartuo's left hand flew up catching the girl's fist.

"Not bad...for a girl" he said moving his hand to her wrist, "But..." he tightened his grip and used his free hand to grab Hinata's dress, "it ain't over!" he hurled her over his head causing her to crash onto her back knocking the wind out of her. As she tried catching her breath Naruto crouched down and looked her in the face.

"Still want my training?" he asked. The princess looked right into his eyes as she blew a long strand of hair out from her eyes.

"Of course."

Naruto grinned, "Well then. Let us carry on shall we?" He extended his hand to help her to her feet which she took. He then walked to the bundle and opened it up as he signaled for her to come to him.

"Now there are many weapons and styles one can learn," he said fully opening the bundle and displaying its contents. There were swords, a few long swords, two katana, one nodachi, small blades, arrows, a collapsible battle staff, a flail, a mace, throwing knives, a crossbow, a whip, a jōhyō (a/n: a rope and dart, like Matsuri uses) and a long bow. "But we need to find one that just for you." he grabbed the throwing knives that were attached to a leather belt.

"Since you seem fond of my own knife, maybe these will suit you better" he finished handing her the belt. She did her best to strap on the belt properly but in the end she needed the blonds' help. He strapped the belt across her chest and pulled out one of the knives and began walking.

"Knives work best at close range," he explained, "but…" He used the knife to carve a large circle as well as a few more in the centre making a make-shift target, "They can be used as mid-range weapons as well." He puffed on his cigarette and left it between his lips as he walked back to the princess. "The knives you're using are specially made for throwing. Their solid steel, no wood handle but perfectly balanced. Six inches long and only weighs 2 oz each so you can carry as many as you like." The blond bandit pause making sure he wasn't overwhelming the girl but she seemed to be soaking it all in.

"It's not that hard to master the art of knife throwing," he said. He quickly flipped the knife so the blade was between his fingers and flung it at the target hitting the bulls-eye. "If you know the trick" he finished grinning. Hinata was shocked at both his speed and his accuracy. A simpleton he may be, but he was not an idiot.

"Simple and deadly" Naruto said turning to Hinata, "You try." Hinata nodded slowly and pulled a knife from her belt and held in her hand like Naruto had done. He had moved too quickly for her to see how he threw it or it he did anything special with his wrist but she would do her best. She drew her arm back and threw the knife like a baseball and watched it fly at the target. The blade was far off the mark. And to add insult to injury, the knife bounced off the tree.

"Try again" said Naruto encouragingly holding his cigarette between his fingers as he took another drag. The princess nodded and pulled out another knife from her belt. She tried throwing the knife with a slight twist and flick of her wrist. Her efforts were rewarded with the knife successfully embedding itself into the tree, but still outside the target.

"Keep at it till you're out of knives" said Naruto. "Relax. Visualize and throw." Visualize and throw? That sounded too easy for it to work. Neither the less, Hinata was determined to learn how to fight and followed the blonds' advice. It seemed to help slightly but did not bear noticeable improvements. She thought back at how she was able to throw Naruto's knife back at the lake and how he threw it himself. She finally threw her last knife hit inside the ring before the bull's eye.

Hinata couldn't help but smile. Her little parade was stopped by the sound of clapping. She turned around to see her "sensei" grinning and clapping at her success.

"Not bad, not bad at all" he said getting up and letting the stub of cigarette fall to the ground where he stepped on to extinguish it. "With another couple of weeks you might actually master it. I'm surprised you're learning so fast. Impressive love." The princess could feel herself swell with pride from his praise.

"Now then," he said, "I have an idea of another weapon for you. Could you be a dear and put away your knives?" Hinata nodded and walked to the tree to pull out her throwing knives and holstered them. When she turned around she saw Naruto leaning on the long bow and was holding up a quiver of arrows. "Let's give this try."

Hinata walked over as Naruto handed her the bow. She had to use both hand to hold up its weight. She looked at Naruto as if she was trying to say "there is no way", but Naruto simply nudged his head at the target and strapped the quiver to the princess' back. Hinata slowly pulled out an arrow and slid it into place making sure the notch of the arrow was in place on the bow string. She tried pulling back the bow string but it was very heavy and strong. Holding the heavy long bow in one hand while trying to pull back the string with the other was proving to be impossible. Seeing her struggle, Naruto decided to lend a hand.

"Let me give ya some help there love" he said snaking his arm so that he was grasping the bow right under where Hinata's hand was and placed his other hand over her hand and pulled back the arrow. Hinata blushed slightly at their closeness and blushed even more so when Naruto moved his face closer to hers making their cheeks nearly touch. Naruto then noticed how small Hinata's hands were compared to his own.

"First to need to make yourself completely relaxed" he said, "Make sure you're breathing calmly and that you remained focused." Though Naruto's words of advice were helping, Hinata was still very tense. She could feel her sweat trickling down her face and down her back. Her hands were sweaty as well; trembling from the strain. Naruto turned his head to look at her and whispered into her ear.

"The secret to kyujutsu, the art of the bow, is not firing the arrow, but letting it go." Hinata looked up at him, staring into his eyes as he smiled and looked back at the target. But even though they had broken eye contact, Hinata continued to stare into the blonds' eyes. His deep, blue, wild, dreamy eyes. She then heard a voice. She didn't know if it was from her mind or from her heart but she heard it whisper.

_Now_

Still staring into Naruto's eyes she loosened her grip on the arrow letting it fly to the target.

"Yes!" shouted Naruto excitedly with a big smile on his face, letting go of the princess. Hinata blinked confused and looked at the target. Where had the arrow hit? She gasped.

Dead centre.

Naruto turned to the princess. "You've amazing! I've never seen anyone with such natural skill."

"A-Arigatou" she said flushed. She looked at him. "Ano hizoku-shi, are you skilled with a bow?"

Naruto looked at her curiously, "So you figured out I'm a bandit huh?" he said. He pulled out an arrow from Hinata's quiver and set it in the bow, "Have you heard of 'telescoping'?" he asked. Before Hinata could answer Naruto brought up the bow already drawn and fired his arrow. Hinata let out a gasp when his arrow shot through the middle of her own arrow hitting the bulls eye.

"I'm a fair archer I guess" he said with a grin. He walked past Hinata handing her the bow while she was still flabbergasted. After a few paces he stopped.

"By the way love," he said looking over his shoulder, "It's Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto." He grinned again before continuing back to his weapons and picked them up and hoisted the bundle over his shoulder. "Remember to retrieve that arrow!" he called back.

Hinata stood speechless for a while. She placed a hand on her chest. Her heart was still pounding. She didn't know if it was from Naruto's impressive shooting or from him being so close to her. She blushed remembering his touch, his eyes, and his hot breath on her neck. She could feel something churning inside her, right in her stomach. It fell weird and she felt slightly sick. But what ever it was, there was one thing she was certain of.

She liked it.

* * *

Yo don't forget to review. hope u like it and don't forget to vote

Hizoku = bandit

shi = an honorific one give to someone you don't now like a stranger


	4. Chapter 4: In The Forest

Chapter 4: In the Forest 

After a week of travel, they were still a long ways from crossing the Zokunen no Mori. (a/n: I've been taking Japanese lessons since the beginning of last month and I tried translating Forest of Unholy Desires on my own. Basically I reversed the order of the words because the sentence structure of English is different from Japanese.)

Deciding to take a rest, the group halted their horses near a brook giving Choji time to prepare lunch. Seeing this was a good a time as any, Hinata decided to give Naruto more lessons by asking him to write something; anything that came to mind. After a few minutes Naruto handed back his sheet of paper so that his "teacher" could check for spelling mistakes. When Hinata read his paper, she couldn't help but giggle. Naruto glanced at her while lying on his stomach, resting his chin in his palm.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

"Oh nothing" she said casually letting out another giggle. Naruto had only written two words, but they perfectly described him. He had written "I'm hungry" and drew a miniature version of his head next to the phrase with a big frown. She had quickly become accustomed to Nartuo's antics. She admitted to herself they had bugged her at first but they soon grew on her. As she lived in a world that frowned down upon such behavior, it was surprising to see people act against what she had been taught all her life.

To Naruto's luck, Choji called them for lunch. As they tucked into their meal, Hinata decided to ask a question that had been on her mind since they entered the forest.

"Ano, why is this forest called the Forest of Unholy Desires?"

The question was unexpected but it wasn't a question that couldn't be answered.

Naruto turned to Shikamaru, "Shika my old friend would you do the honors?"

Shikamaru frowned, "Troublesome," he muttered but he put down his fork and folded his finger together. "I suppose you already know what the unholy desires are."

She nodded, "Of course. There are seven of them. Greed, Lust, Sloth, Gluttony, Rage, Pride and Envy. Also known as the Seven Deadly Sins."

"Exactly. The reason why the forest was named after those sins is because of the forest's ability. It has powerful curse. A curse powered by black magic that draws out the darkness within a person's heart. It searches for the unholy sins, taking advantage and control of both body and soul."

The princess swallowed uncomfortably. Seeing the worried look on her ace, Naruto chuckled. "Don't worry yourself your highness. None of us will be affected by the curse. See there's only two ways to protected oneself from said curse. One is to be pure of heart which no one is and second is to have a talisman" he said raising his left hand where several rings hugged themselves around the blonds' fingers. In turn the rest of the group showed off their own talismans.

"Here" said Naruto taking off a ring and tossed to Hinata. She caught it and ran her fingers over it. It was a large ornate thing made of silver with twin dragons wrapped around it. Obviously to large for her to wear, she reached back and undid a silver chain necklace and slide it in the loop of the ring. She then reattached the chain around her neck letting the ring rest in front of her bosoms before she placed it into her corset. When she looked up she saw the whole group was watching her but then looked away with smirks on their faces. Even the quiet Sasuke had glanced at her but had returned to closing his eyes. Though impossible to see under his bails of cloth, he too bore a smirk.

Hinata blushed as she looked down at her plate, losing some of her appetite. 'Men' she thought.

xXx

After a rib busting meal, the motley crew decided to hitch up the horses and move on. It would take another week to cross the forest at the pace they were going. They couldn't simply barrel through the cursed forest as there were a great many things that posed danger. Amongst those were carnivorous beasts, swamps, quicksand, bandits and other anomalies that would seek to do them harm.

Riding in silence, the group trekked onwards. Kida was leading with Akamaru trailing his master. Naruto was at the reins of the wagon with Shikamaru riding shotgun along with Choji and Hinata resting in the back. At the rear was Sasuke on his own black stallion making sure if they were ever attacked, the enemy wouldn't be able to flank them.

Hinata, who was not used to such travel was exhausted but was unable to fall asleep. With the creaking of the wagon, the hooves of the horses and the chatter of the forest made sleep for her impossible. With the forest being the loudest, she shouted in her mind for it to stay quiet for a few minutes just to let her sleep. To her amazement it worked. She smiled in spite of herself and rested her head against her arm finally having some peace and quiet. But when she felt the wagon halt she lifted her head looking at Naruto. He was quiet and remained still.

"Why are we stopping?" she asked Choji. But the cook too remained still and silent. Outside the horses began to neigh and shuffle. Kiba's horse neighed loudly and leapt onto its hind legs. Kiba grasped the reins tightly trying to keep the horse at bay as Akamaru was now keeping low to the ground growling at the forest. Sasuke's own horse shook its head and took a few steeps back and to the sides. Hinata, now slightly alarmed crawled to the front of the wagon and placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"Something's spooking the horses" said Shikamaru calmly but alert.

"Something's out there," said Naruto not looking behind him. "And believe me when I say love, it's not friendly."

Suddenly, Akamaru began to bark loudly. From the forest emerged several men dressed in animal skins and leather armor with clubs and swords in their hands. From their eyes came a glowing demonic red and from their mouths, fowl breathe. It was so foul that Hinata could smell it from the wagon. Kiba then spoke up.

"Who are you and what do you want?" he asked the men. They simply laughed. The tallest one responded.

"We want your gold, your ale...and your souls." The others chuckled. Kiba wasn't impressed.

"Really? You and what army?" On cue, several dozen men sharing the first groups dress, completely surrounded Naruto and his team.

"How about this one?" asked the man rhetorically. The men all laughed. Kiba grinned.

"An army of gorillas can't beat an army of men."

The man growled, "We'll see." He drew his sword, "Charge!" The men roared in unison, drawing their weapons and charging at the group. Kiba leaped off his horse after kicking the nearest bandit in the face, letting his horse run into the forest. As he fought off the ones closest to him, Akamaru lunged at a bandit tearing out his throat and fallowed his master, blood dripping from the dog's mouth. Shikamaru reached into the wagon and pulled out a long black staff and joined his comrade in battle. At the rear, Sasuke drew his nodachi from his back and decapitated four bandits with one swing as he's horse rose on its back legs.

Naruto, now anxious to join the fight, got into the wagon and pulled Hinata down. "Stay here and stay low" he said grabbing a pair of nodachis.

"But I want to fight" she said vigorously. Naruto grasped her arm tightly.

"I'm not asking," he said throwing a blanket over her. "You of all people need to stay alive." Hinata was able to lift the blanket enough to see the blond slide the nodachis into the left side of his sash and jumped out of the wagon. Finding this was an injustice; the princess grabbed her belt of knives and made her way out of the wagon. Choji tried to grab her but she was just out of reach.

When she landed out the back of the wagon, she was greeted by half a dozen bandits. She staggered backward but tripped on her long dress. As she saw the men draw near with their arms outstretched, she covered her head and screamed. Instead of the heavy breathing of the bandits, she heard a loud chop and the several screams of agony. She opened her eyes to see the almost all of the men had their arms chopped off from the elbows down. She then realized that it was Choji that saved her.

In his hands was a large battle axe with one side of its head as an axe blade and the other as a sledgehammer. He lifted it out of the ground and held it with a hand near the neck and the other at the base.

"They say some light exercise after a meal helps with the digestion" he said brining the axe up to rest on his shoulder. "Let's make it as light as possible shall we?" Seeing her chance to escape and doing everything she could to suppress the need to faint after seeing such carnage, Hinata took off into the woods.

Back to the centre of the fight, Naruto slashed one man in the throat with his right nodachi and another in the torso with the other. Faster than the eye could see, Naruto killed five bandits with one slash for each. Two were decapitated, one was cut from his shoulder to his ribs and the rest were cut in two. When he heard Hinata's scream, he looked up to see her run into the woods with half a dozen bandits tailing her.

"Dammit! I told her not to leave!" he said to himself. He tried to run to her rescue but was blocked by ten bandits. He growled, "I don't have time for this!" He roared and charged at them with renewed ferocity.

xXx

Hinata kept moving through the trees though she could hear the bandits were gaining on her. She was being slowed down by her long dress as it would continuously get caught on twigs and low branches. Without warning, the ground gave way and she fell down a ravine, sliding all the way down. When she stopped at the bottom of the ravine, she hissed in pain as she had scrapped the outside of her left calf. Doing the best to ignore the pain, she stood up and tried to put as much distance between her and her pursuers. Her luck fell short as the bandits were already down the ravine and right behind her. Knowing there was no where to run, she turned and faced her enemies.

The bandits fanned out forming a cruse half circle. "Well looky here boys" said a large bandit with a scar over his right eye, "A lost poppet." The bandits laughed and one took a step forward. Acting on instinct alone, Hinata's hand pulled out a knife and threw it at the bandit hitting him square in the temple. Both she and the bandits recoiled in surprise as the man dropped dead. Hinata couldn't believe what she had done. She had killed someone. Now the bandits were furious.

"You wench I'll kill ya!" shouted the bandit with the scar lunging himself at the princess. Hinata tried to throw another knife but the large bandit knocked her over striking her throat. Strangely, the bandit seemed to calm down. "Though it would be a shame to kill something as fine as this won't it boys?" he asked. The other bandits grinned in agreement. The bandit with the scar knelt down; his eyes locked onto Hinata's bosoms and leaned forward. Hinata, knowing what was coming, was too terrified to move. She shut her eyes begging that this was just a nightmare.

Suddenly, a loud thump made her open her eyes. The bandit that tried to rape her flew to the side with a long nodachi imbedded right through his skull. Everyone turned around to see Naruto charging at them and slashed at the bandits. Miraculously, the bandits avoided the attack. Hinata was overjoyed.

"You..." she began.

"You just don't listen do you?" said Naruto annoyed, pulling out his sword from the bandits corpse. "I told you to stay in the wagon but you left and got yourself in a mess you can't clean up." Hinata blushed in embarrassment knowing her was right. But that wasn't going to stop her from arguing.

"I wasn't _completely _helpless! I managed to kill one of them!" she said pointing to the bandit with the knife in his temple. Naruto's eye widened in amazement.

"You did that?" he said. Hinata nodded with a smile that made Naruto smile back. The bandits were not pleased.

"Oi! Shitty blond brat!" growled a bandit, "did you forget about us?" Naruto sighed and looked at the bandits.

"No but then again I've never been the one who enjoys doing chores." Though the bandits were angry, one smiled.

"You need to open your eyes" he said, "There four of us and only one of you." The group of bandits chuckled and surrounded the blond weapons held high. Naruto couldn't help chucking himself.

"Yes," he said with a confident smirk which made Hinata blush, "but this is a matter of quality not quantity." Their patients now run out, the bandits charged at Naruto with mighty battle cries. Naruto, anxious as his opponents drew near, grinned and charged. He slashed the first bandit from throat to groin without hesitation with his right sword. Stabbing his sword in the ground, he hoisted himself up to spin his body kicking one bandit and stabbing another with his free nodachi straight in the eye socket.

Seeing this was an opportunity of victory, the last of the bandits charged at Naruto ready to swing his broad sword. Sensing the danger, Naruto let go of his swords and faced his enemy. He knocked the sword out of the bandit's hand into the air, caught it, and stabbed him in the heart. As his body fell to the ground, Naruto grinned and began recovering his weapons.

Hinata stood there in awe, then sliding to her knees. She had never seen such display of skill. Not even the palace guards were that agile and efficient. She could not stand there amazed for long as the bandit Naruto hand kicked has still alive and tried to throw a dagger at the blond. Thinking fast, Hinata pulled out another knife and threw it right into his throat.

After a few deep breaths, Hinata looked up and met Naruto gaze. "No wonder the Thief King's army was wiped out. You were fighting on the battlefield" he said. Hinata smiled at the complement, fixing her hair.

"Thank you, but there would be no way my father would allow me to fight" she said.

"Shame. You're quite something. I'm impressed love." Hinata blushed and smiled even more. She had never recieved such praise before. "But," continued Naruto, his tone changing, "I'm not happy that you didn't listen to me." Hinata's mouth hung open for a moment, flabbergasted that even after she had saved his life he was displeased with her for escaping.

"But I saved you!"

"That's beside the point."

"Oh come on!"

"Listen," said Naruto seriously, "My job is to get you home safely. If you die then everything goes to pot. I made a promise to you that I would get you home unharmed, and I never go against my word." Hinata was shocked by his speech, not knowing that their rescue/escort bargain meant more than simply keeping her safe to get the full reward.

"I'm...sorry, for making you worry" she said sincerely. Naruto looked over his shoulder, seeing that she was indeed sorry. He sighed.

"Don't fret over the small stuff love" he said, "I would have done the same." Hinata looked at him with some surprise but smiled. She then realized that this conversation had revealed something about the blond he never showed before. In spite of the fact he was a poor peasant from the North with a dislike of her family as well as the monarchy and the upper-class, he was a good man with big heart. She secretly hopped that she could learn more about him as he seemed to be an enigma.

Unfortunately their tender moment could not last as a dozen bandits 30 yards away were closing in on their position. Preparing herself, the princess pulled out a knife. Naruto on the other hand smiled.

"They just don't let up do they?" he asked sheathing one of his swords. He flipped his other sword so that the blade was facing outward and plunged it into the ground on a slant. He knelt down on one knee and grasped his nodachi's hilt with both hands.

**"Kuro Ryū no Mahō**:** Ken no Sutairu Shi:**," he said, "**Funka! **(Black Dragon Magic: Sword Style number 4: Volcanic Eruption)" A massive column of molten lava and fire erupted from the ground beneath the bandits engulfing them in flames and turning them to ash. As the fire was still raging, Naurto stood up pulled out his sword, its blade glowed red like the embers of hell. The sword rapidly cooled off which cut off the column of fire's source of power. Smoke still lifting off the steel, Naruto slowly sheathed his sword with his left hand holding the sheath steady.

Hinata was in utter shock. "Y-Y-Y-Your a-a-a mage!" she said half shouting. Naruto grinned at the princess' reaction.

"Yup."

"Why didn't you say anything beforehand!" she asked.

"Why? Do you like mages?" the blond asked.

"I love them!" she said louder than she intended, rising to her feet. Naruto's eyebrows raised in both surprise and interest. The young woman before him was no longer the upper-class lady of society but a girl with curiosity and a sense of adventure. He couldn't help but laugh. She was truly an interesting girl.

"Well then, how about I tell you all bout that after we get back to the others, savvy?" he said turning to leave. Hinata smiled and tried to follow him but her dress once again got caught on something. She gritted her teeth trying to pull herself free. Naruto noticing that she wasn't following turned out.

"You all right there love?" he asked. When she stubbornly didn't respond, he walked over.

"My dress is caught on something" she said through pursed lips. Knowing that her dress would always cause her problems in rural environments, he decided to fix the problem. As gently as he could he pushed her on her rear. Letting out a yelp of surprise, she landed on her rump. She began to argue with him (though not for that she hurt herself as her fall was well cushioned) but for not explaining what he was doing. Staying silent, Naruto pulled out her knife and plunged it into the skirt of the dress and began to cut down vertically. Letting out a yell of shock, Hinata blushed and dove her hands into her dress covering her crotch.

"W-W-What are you doing?" she demanded but Naruto didn't respond. He continued to cut till the skirt was cut in two so that her long pale legs were exposed from her ankles to a dangerous distance from her waist. Pleased with is handy work, Naruto put his knife away and stood up.

"Your dress is just going to get caught again" he said casually, "So this way, it will make it easier for you to run and climb savvy? Honestly, it's not practical for women to wear dresses out here."

"W-Well it's like we have a choice do we?" she said standing up, trying to cover as much skin as possible.

"Touché. Gather your knives before you come back" he said continuing to walk back to the others. Reluctantly Hinata retrieved her weapons (no matter how sick she felt doing it) and followed him up the ravine. She began to mutter under her breath, as she did not want to admit, Naruto had been right. Again.

xXx

It did not take them to rejoin the group. They were greeted with not only with cheery helloes (they had defeated all the bandits) but strong stares. Kiba wolf whistled as he gazed at her now exposed legs. Hinata, with a now permanent blush on her face, walked briskly to the wagon with Naruto not far behind. All she wanted was to get in the wagon, cover herself and sleep away this hectic day. But before she could retire, Naruto grabbed her arm.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"I-I'm fine" she said not making eye contact, "Horrible embarrassed but-"

"I mean your leg" said Naruto pointed to her left leg which now had stained her dress with blood.

"It's nothing" she said surprising herself that she had forgotten about the wound. But Naruto would not let it go.

"Wounds, no matter how small need to be looked at after a battle" he said. Hinata sat down at the back of the wagon allowing him to check her calf. His hands slide up her leg holding it up so he could inspect the cuts more carefully. Hinata bit her lip as she was surprised by how she enjoyed his touch, his hands surprisingly warm. After a few moments, Naruto set her leg down.

"It's nothing serious but I need to disinfect it" he said. He stood up and reached into the wagon pulling out a satchel. He flipped out the flap and rummaged inside till he pulled out a small vile of green herbs, a pestle and mortar and a canteen of water. He rolled up his sleeves and dumped some of the herbs into the mortar and began to pound it with the pestle. After he was pleased with his work, he rinsed his hands with water from the canteen and stuck his finger into the mortar taking some crushed herbs which had become a bit like a paste.

"This'll sting a bit" he said and rubbed gently over the cuts. Hinata hissed slightly and bit her lip. She could feel her wound pulse a bit, reacting to the herbs but it was quickly replaced with a cooling sensation. "So I suppose you want to here about me being a mage then right love?"

Hinata nodded looking at him. Though they couldn't make eye contact as Naruto was too busy gazing and treating her leg which made her blush.

"Well then, I'll start wtih me. When I was a lad, I grew up in the east where I was taken in by man who turned out to be a mage. Before then I was living on the streets with no where to go, I had no parents. After a while, my master discovered I had the gift of magic and began training me."

"How did he know?" Hinata asked curiously.

"One day he sent me to fetch a package at the post office for him. After collecting it, some rich boys about my age regonized me and began teasing me, saying I was still a street rat and tried to steal my master's package." Naruto paused to get more mashed herbs before continuing. "I fought back but they easily defeated me. It was impossible for me to protect my master's property and fight at the same time."

Hearing that Naruto was beaten in battle seemed impossible to Hinata after the skill he displayed. He must have worked hard to get to where he was. She tried imagining a younger Naruto covered in dirt and scrapes making his way in the world. She couldn't help smiling thinking he must have been pretty cute.

"Anyways, they began insulting my master, saying he was a fool for talking me in. He had become as close as a father to me and I wouldn't stand by hearing his good name being tarnished. I grew so made that I began to glow red slightly and caused a strong gust of wind knocking them over. They ran pretty quick after that" he said with a grin. He glanced up to see Hinata was listening intently. He smiled, "Your the first to hear that story. Don't tell anyone promise?"

Hinata, surprised that he would tell her such a secret nodded quickly. Seeing she was eager to hear more, the blond decided to tell her about the rest.

"Most of us know magic, " he began, "Sasuke, Shikamaru and I are true mages trained under masters. Kiba knows some magic but thank god he never found a proper master. He most picks thing up as we go along." He said dabbing more herb paste on Hinata's leg. "Choji on the other hand knows zilch. A simple fire spell to cook with nothing more."

"Why would you want a non-mage with you then?" asked Hinata as politely as she could not wanting to insult the cook.

"Have you seen his arms?" he asked, "I first met him in a small town at a bakery. Some drunk braggarts where havin' too much to drink and threw a bottle through his window. Of course Choji wanted compensation for his window but the drunkards gave him a fight. He took out all five of'em in under a minute. Never seen someone who messed with an angry baker and got away scoot free. So that's why I wanted him, plus none of us can cook." Naruto finished his story and pulled back, cleaning his hands on some grass.

"That should about do it" he said sounding quite pleased. "Now I know how much you young lasses love your smooth skin so don't fret over the possibility of scarring cuz there won't be any" he said standing up collecting his instruments, "Also there's no need to bandage it. Better to air it out. Try not to rub it alright love?" He extended his hand to help the princess up which she took.

"Thank you" she said quietly.

"It's my pleasure love" he said, "If you don't mind me saying, you have a lovely pair of legs. Nice skin too, smooth as silk."

"T-Thank you" she said again, this time with a blush on her face. There was a few moments of awkward silence before Naruto spoke up.

"Sorry bout the dress" he said rubbing the back of his head, as if apologizing wasn't something he was used to. "If you'd like I could buy you a dress and some proper clothes when we get to the next town?"

Hinata looked at him wondering he was being sincere or pulling her leg, "Do you mean that?" she asked.

"Every word love" he said. Hinata looked at him before smiling.

"Alright then. But I'll make sure you keep to your promise." Naruto smiled and together they walked to the camp. While he pulled his instruments away Hinata sat near the fire to have some lunch. Unbeknownst to her, Kiba leaned over and whispered something to Shikamaru with a grin. Shikamaru rolled his eyes but bore a smirk on his face and both watched the princess from the corner of their eyes. When she got up to rest in the wagon, Shikamaru flicked his finger causing a small gust of wind to lift up Hinata torn dress. Hinata screamed desperately tried to bring her dress down to cover herself. Kiba on the other hand was having a good laugh. He was interrupted however with something hard hitting him in the head. He turned round to see a not very pleased Naruto holding one of his nodachis.

"Can't you leave her be for one day?" he said. Kiba rubbed his head as Naruto walked on. Shikamaru couldn't help smirking but he too recieved a blow to the read. "And you should know better than to listen to him." It was Kiba's turn to laugh as Shikamaru growled wondering why he had chosen to follow such a troublesome leader.

"I still don't see why I should be punished along with you" he said rubbing his own head.

"Oh it was worth the pain," said Kiba with a grin, "That was a wonderful sight we just saw." With that they began clearing up their camp.

Back at the wagon, Hinata had buried herself under her blanket too embarressed to show herself. This ammused Naruto greatly. Barly able to contain his laughter, he made his way to the wagon and lifted the blanket revealing an embarres Hinata with her face burried in hier arms lying on her stomach.

"Are they always like this?" she asked raising her head.

"Pretty much." Hinata let out a small groan, letting her head fall back down into her arms. Naruto let out another fit full of laughs as he tossed the blanket back over her.

"Cheer up your highness, it won't take us much longer to get through this blinkling forest." And he was right for within less than 3 days time, the group entered a small but lively town finnaly outside the Forest of Unholy Desires.

* * *

Sorry for taking so long. its going to take longer since my computer died, again


	5. Chapter 5: A Little Bit of Shopping

Author's Note:

Ya hi guys! I'm really srry how long it's taken for a new chapter. I've been busy with college and I'm busy trying to become a Director on Machinima and Machinima Respawn. I'll be uploading my NaruHina one-shot lemon as soon as i can and more chapters. Also the poll for who will be the Dragon of the East is still open.

Chapter 5: A Little Bit of Shopping

Shikamaru dropped a few gold coins into the stable hand's palm and turned back to the group. They had just arrived at the town of Kouchi. A small but lively place filled with open markets and street performers. Hinata, who so far had seen drunkards, thieves, bandits, potential rapists and gloomy towns, was pleasantly surprised by the happy and lively atmosphere. She decided to ask the blond.

"The Zokunen no Mori acts like a natural barrier halting traffic and trade. This makes it so the bandits from the mountain range can't get down to these towns" he explained. Shikamaru then began dividing the money they had for everyone's spending needs. Choji needed the most for food along with Kiba for supplies. Shikamaru would only need some if there was a good book or two while Sasuke was going to mosey about at the local weapon's shop and then to the temple to meditate. This left Naruto with Hinata and they both had plans.

"Well let's get this over with" he said heading towards the nearest clothing shop. Hinata, now with a spring in her step, walked by his side and entered the shop. The bell rang as they entered gaining the clerk's attention.

"Welcome!" she said in a singsong voice, she was around the same age as them "Is there anything you are looking for in particular?"

"No but thank you" said Naruto giving the clerk a matinee idol smile. The clerk blushed and returned to her reading but peered over her newspaper to gaze at him. This didn't go unnoticed by Hinata who frowned and felt a slight sting of jealously though not sure why. She walked to the women's section of the store but Naruto grasped her shoulder pointing to the men's section. Hinata's eyes widened realizing what he had in mind.

"There is absolutely no way" she said trying to keep her voice low. Naruto grasped her arm and began to walk.

"Unfortunately yes way love. We had a deal" he said.

"You said a dress."

"And some proper clothes and there they are" he said pointing to some men's trousers. He began to pull some clothes and shoved them into the princess' hands. "These should be in your size. There's the changing room. Pop in and be quick about it. Oh and if you need a hand, give a holler and I'll be more than happy to assist you." Hinata blushed but quickly walked into the dressing stall. Naruto slowly paced up and down, his eyes looking over the clothes. From the corner of his eye he could see the clerk peeping at him and he couldn't help grinning, giving her a quick wink. She giggled and hid behind her paper.

After a minute or so Hinata whispered through the curtain stall and stepped out. What a surprise. She was wearing a pair of brown baggy trousers and matching top. Hinata noticed his eyebrows rise making her blush and felt even more embarrassed.

"How do I look?" she managed.

He checked her up and down and walked around her. The pants, though baggy, seemed to hug nicely around her rear. He stood in front of her, "These clothes don't flatter you at all it should be a dress or nothing" he said with no shame. "I happen to have no dress in my wagon" he finished with a mischievous grin. Hinata blushed deeply and dropped her head.

"I want a dress" she said quietly.

"Sorry love but I'll have to wait. We've got a long journey ahead of us and we don't want another mishap with a dress do we?" he said seriously. He cocked his head, "Unless you like having some breeze between your knees?"

The princess blushed again remembering that her old dress revealed her legs like a dancer's. Not happy with the arrangements, she agreed but had one condition, that she could choose her top. Naruto gave no objection. She quickly picked out a blouse and walked to the counter with the blond to pay for her clothes. The clerk, though glad to see Naruto gave Hinata a questioning look that Hinata did her best ignore. Dropping 2 ten gold piece coins in the clerk's hand and waved goodbye. Before they left Hinata eyed a beautiful dress but knew she couldn't have it. They walked into the busy street, and Naruto spoke up.

"I think there's a magic shop around here. Want to come with me?" he asked the princess. Hinata's bad mood seemed to ease with the blonds mentioning of magic. She nodded and let him lead the way. After 5 minutes of walking around, Naruto saw the shop come into view. He walked straight towards it with Hinata following close behind. He opened the door of the "Misty Crystal Ball Magic Shop" and stepped inside. To his good fortune it was empty safe the old man at the counter.

"If your here to look around then get out of my shop. This is a shop for real mages not wannabes" he said looking up from his old book. But the second his eyes rested on Naruto, he knew straight away he was a true mage. "Finally! A real mage enters my shop. What can I do for ya lad?"

"Oh just looking around" said Naruto with a smirk, "I'm not even sure if this shop has real magic equipment and not cheep things for wannabes." The old mage gave a laugh and stood up, closing his book.

"Well said my boy. Now then, anything in particular you're looking for? Spells for attacking? Spells to increase your stamina? Potions? What tickles your fancy?"

"I'm looking for beast type spell books as well as ones on summoning familiars."

"I see. Well then what's your element and affinity?" asked the old mage.

"Fire. Fox" the blond replied.

"Ahh, a very rare class. I think I might have something. Though, it maybe a bit much."

"Let's see it" said Naruto interested. The old mage turned around and went in his storage room trying to find this "something". After a minute he returned with a large black leather bound book with a red symbol engraved in the centre.

"Feast your eyes on this!" he said dropping the book on the wood counter. "This is an old spell book, made for the spell casters of old. This is only a tiny shop that's holds objects mostly for lower level mages. But you can bet yar boots that this is something many a mage would give an arm and a leg for."

Naruto now very interesting, reached out for the leather bound book. But when his fingers were no more than a few inches from it, a crackle of red lighting attacked his hand singeing his fingers. "A seal" he said calmly, looking at his hand as smoke wafted off.

"Aye. Only a pentagram mage can unlock it. And I haven't met one in decades" said the shop owner. Naruto closed his eyes as well as his fist. He slammed his palm onto the spell book.

"**Kai**" he said. The book glowed red as the seal caught fire. The straps on the book snapped open allowing its contents to be read. Both the owner and Hinata stood with mouths agape. Naruto gingerly picked up the spell book and thumbed through it. "Not bad. I'll take it. How much?"

The old man still stood there mouth agape. He managed to gain his composure and adjusted his glasses. "It's been far too long since a true mage entered my stop. I've been waiting to pass that book along for years but no one came that I thought was worthy enough. Take it my boy."

Naruto looked up and smiled closing the book. But when he turned to leave he felt a strong hand grasp his arm. He turned to see the shop owner give him a hard stare and leaned closer to him. "I'm sure you've noticed the contents of that book are, off the record. I don't want _them _to come looking for me."

Naruto grinned and leaned closer as well, "You've got nothing to fear old man. With my record, finding out where and from whom I got this book will be the least of their concerns."

The old man seemed to relax and let go of the blonds' arm and bid them a good day. As they walked out of the shop Naruto cast a spell on the book so that it shrunk to a faction of it size and slid it into his pocket.

"Ano, what's a Pentagram mage?" asked Hinata. Naruto glanced at her.

"There are 7 different types of mages. Circle, Cross, Triangle, Square, Pentagram, Hexagram and Heptagram. Each shape represents the level of skill that mage has achieved and the number of elements he can use and later on master. A Circle mage can only use one, a Cross mage can use 2, Triangle 3, Square 4 etc."

"Aren't there only 4 elements?" asked Hinata confused.

"There are seven. Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Light, Darkness and Life. I'm just a Pentagram mage" he said shifting his collar to reveal a large tattoo of a Pentagram on his heart. "There is only a hand full of Hexagram mages and there hasn't been a Heptagram mage in nearly 3 centuries."

"How come?" asked the princess. The things he was telling her were topics she could never had found neither in her family's library nor from any mage under her father's employment.

"Because love, when I mage has finally mastered the 7th element, they gain something every human in the world wants" he said.

Hinata bit her lip. Something that every human wanted. What could that be? "What do they gain?"

"What do they gain indeed." Hinata frowned and put her hands on her hips.

"Tell me!" Naruto chuckled. He couldn't help thinking she looked very cute like that.

"Immortality" he said. Hinata's eye's widened and her mouth dropped open.

"Impossible" she breathed.

"So they say but it's true."

"How?"

Naruto took a breath. "When a mage gain's the 7th and final element, it allows him to live forever, because he can control his own life force." Though Naruto felt he was telling her too much, her being a non-mage and all, he enjoyed having such a captivated audience. She was hanging to every word he said and not to mention she was quite attractive to boot.

"But you said that there hasn't been a Heptagram mage in centuries" the princess said, "How can that be if he or she was immortal?"

"Ah you remembered" said Naruto happily, "The reason for that is this. There should only be one Heptagram mage. He and he alone would be the most power mage in the world and rule over the Council of Magicians. But over 300 years ago, something impossible happened. There were two Heptagram mages."

Naruto saw a cosy looking bench under a tree and decided to sit down. Hinata quickly follow suit not wanting to miss on this incredible story. "Like that old saying, 'This town ain't big enough for the two of us', there was a conflict between the two mages. Their conflict soon erupted into war; a war which humanity has never seen. The planet shook from their mighty battle. The world was scared by their power, causing mountains, craters, and earthquakes."

"What happened to them?" Hinata asked, on the edge of her seat.

"No one knows" said the blond, "Right as their battle was raging at its fiercest, they vanished. Some say they died, though how could immortal beings die? Whether they killed each other, ended up in another world or gone into hiding, we might never know."

"Wow" said Hinata. Something as incredible as this; unthinkable. Created mountains, shaking the planet, this was the power of the mages. But then something hit her. "Wait a minute, why did you buy a spell book if you can't read?"

"Ya so?" he asked.

"Did you think I was going to read it to you?"

"You want to read it?" asked the blond pulling out the book and returning it to it's original size, though not understand where she was getting at.

Hinata rolled her eyes and took the book. But when she opened it, she was confused at what she saw.

"What are these markings?"

Naruto grinned, "These my fair princess, are Rūn moji, Runes. These are the symbols mages use to cast spells and seals. And these my love, I _can_ read." He took back his spell book and closed it, reattaching the the straps and resealed it. "Now then, why don't we go back to the wagon so we can get some training done?"

xXx

Hinata gritted her teeth as she pulled as hard as she could. But no matter how hard she pulled the bow string, it would only pull back no more than an inch. This was ridiculous. How did Naruto expect her to wield such a weapon? The bow was easily over 6 feet and must have weighed at least 100 pounds. She has seen the archer guard squad of her palace using such bows but she never imagined it was this difficult to use them. Holding up the bow with one hand so she could fire with the other was impossible. Giving up, she let the bow fall to the ground and sat on a tree stump, her arm aching from the strain.

"Not having much luck love?" asked a voice. Hinata turned around to see Naruto leaping on a tree with a red apple in his hand.

"No" she said, "It's impossible for me."

"Nothing's impossible. You just need to keep trying" said Naruto encouragingly.

"But I can't even draw back the bow! It's hopeless!"

"Well…" began the blond, "The bow weighs 100 pounds and with it at full draw…a 250 pound pull. So I can understand why you're having difficulty."

Hinata's mouth fell open. "250 pounds! That's twice my weight! There's no way for me to pull that much weight with one arm!"

"Get stronger" said Naruto bluntly taking a bite of his apple.

"How?" asked the princess.

"Do light exercises to increase the upper body strength" he said taking another bite and used the back of his hand to wipe the juice tripping from his chin. "Push ups, pull up, any form of lifting. Even doing some laps would be good. Cardio is always good."

Hinata blinked, "Just that easy?" Naruto paused before biting his apple.

"Can you do it?"

"Of course."

"Give me 10."

Hinata stood up and got down tried to do a push up. She went down but when she tried to get up, her arms began to shake and gave out. Her arms were just too tired from trying to draw her bow that she couldn't even do a simple push up. When she looked up she saw Naruto with his eyebrows raised.

"Well that's one" he said biting his apple. He stood up and walked away. Hinata stood up and clenched her fists.

"I'm not giving up!" she shouted at him. The blond stopped and looked over his shoulder. "I'm going to keep trying till I become strong and even after then! I will not be a burden anymore!" Naruto's widened slight when he saw small tears forming at the corners of her eyes. This meant more to her than she let on. She must have felt useless and weak like this. A feeling he had left behind long ago, but never forgotten.

The blond snapped his fingers and used his magic to create another apple. He tossed it to the indigo-haired beauty, catching her by surprise. She snatched it and looked at him, not understanding the gesture.

"You got guts kid, and determination to boot. You don't see that in girls. I like that. If I'm not careful, I might fall in love with you and your large bosoms."

Hinata blushed, "U-Urusai hentai" she said though a little happy by the complement.

"Oi oi" he said walking up to her and bent over "its Naruto not hentai."

Hinata folded her arms under neither her bosoms lifting them up a little, "Fine, as long as you stop calling me 'your highness' and 'you majesty'. Just Hinata is ok."

Naruto grinned, "Alright then. It's a deal love."

Hinata blushed again, "D-Don't call…never mind." She was about to stand up when Naruto extended his hand to help her. She took his hand and together they headed towards the wagon where they could already smell Choji's cooking.

* * *

Had a bit of writers block with this chapter but next chap will be smokin'!


	6. Update

Update

Hey everyone it's the DragonoftheEastblue here! Yes I haven't died as many have wondered, with me receiving no less that ten emails a day asking me about my work. Rest assured that I plan to complete every story I post online, whether it be fanfiction or my own.

Now to explain what's gonna happen during the rest of this year and next year. I am currently working on chapter 14 of "The Soul of the Fox and the Eagle" and chapter 6 of "A Princess Amongst Thieves". Chapter 2 of "Under Dogs" and "Fox May Cry: Spawn of Yoko" has been choreographed but not written and chapter 3 of "Returning the Favor" and chapter 2 of "Pirates vs Ninjas: Battles of Love and Will" are being written.

I have written the first chapter of 2 of the 3 stories I plan on writing.

"Ultimate Hunter Alliance": The best monster hunters team up to do what they do best. Dante and Nero from Devil May Cry, Alucard from Hellsing, Inuyasha from Inuyasha, Clare from Claymore, Kurosaki Ichigo from Bleach and Yusuke Yurameshi from YU YU Hakusho. They've all been promised to gain something by their mysterious employer. Something they've lost or won't admit they're looking for.

"In My End Is My Beginning": After the defeat of Fire Lord Ozai, Aang surprises his friends when he decides to leave to train. After 3 long years he finally returns with new strengths and wisdom. But things are not always what they seem. Secrets from the past, present and future shift the entire balance of the Nations, reminding Aang that peace, is only the time to prepare for war.

"Naruto's Perfect World": Based on the online Chinese MMORPG "Perfect World International", the Naruto characters are pitted against each other. Set in a valley outside the war for Heaven's Tear and the war on the Wraths, Naruto, leader of a pack of Untamed battles against Hiashi leader of the Winged Elves and Tsunade leader of the humans. However things begin to change at an alarming pace which changes the entire way of life of the world's most powerful races. A story of love, betrayal and unity. The perfect world is at an end, but the battle to reclaim it has only just begun.

I will not update these for a while. Not till I complete one or more stories first.

Hope that puts your minds to rest. Thank you for staying loyal and patient all this time.

Cheers

DragonoftheEastblue


	7. Chapter 6: The Sting of Jealousy

Author's Notes:

HEHEY! Guess who's back! Srry for the wait! I guess this is inexcusable but i hope you can forgive me. More chapters are on the way so hang tight.

Chapter 6: The Sting of Jealousy

As soon as they arrived they left. Now resupplied, Naruto wanted to push onward to make it to the next town before sun down. However to get to the next village, they would have to travel on the edge of a cliff road. In the middle of the valley was deadly swamp making traveling through it impossible. This would slow them down, so much so that they would have to camp in the wagon if they didn't make it to the next town.

Despite all this, Naruto urged them onward. They would cover as much ground as possible even if they didn't make it to an inn. Choji was at the reins of the wagon with Kiba in front on horseback with Akamaru tailing him. As usual, Sasuke was riding at the flank making sure there would be no surprise attack. Shikamaru was napping in the wagon while Hinata was at the end resting her arms on the wagon back board looking at the scenery. Never truly been out of the castle before, it was amazing to see what a big place the world was. Naruto on the other hand was fully engrossed in his spell book.

"Well this is interesting" said Naruto for the 12th time. Hinata looked over her shoulder slightly annoyed. She didn't know why Naruto wouldn't let her see the spell book. She couldn't read the spells anyway but she was still curious.

"Can you at least tell me what's so interesting?" she asked.

"Nope" he said not lifting his eyes from the page he was reading.

"Why?"

"Because you're a non-mage."

"So?"

"It's dangerous for people like you to know magic."

"It's not as if I'm capable of performing the spells and incantations" huffed Hinata folding her arms pouting. "You're just being mean."

Naruto couldn't help but laugh. "The Royal princess outs like a child and calls me mean? I thought that was only for the lower class!"

Hinata blushed in embarrassment, "I-I'm not a child! You are the one being selfish and unfair."

The blond raised an eyebrow as Hinata returned to her upper-class self. Sometimes she was a curious, cute, interesting girl and sometimes she was an upper-class young woman. Which one was her true self?

Suddenly, the wagon gave a violent jerk and banked sharply to the left.

"Choji! The rear left wheel is over the edge of the cliff!" shouted Sasuke. The young cook yanked the reins to the right trying to get the horses to pull up the wagon. He managed to get the wheel free and back on the road causing the wagon to bounce. So hard that Hinata was sent flying out of the wagon and over the edge of the cliff screaming.

"Shit!" shouted Naruto diving after her. He landed on the wall of the cliff running downward to match Hinata and kicked off. He wrapped his arms round her causing them to spin. They tumbled down, the ground coming up to meet them. At the last second Naruto shifted Hinata so that her legs were around his waist and her arms around his neck allowing him to land safety on his feet; knees bent to cushion the fall. He stood up holding her in his arms, but then realized she was holding on for dear life; her eyes shut tight.

"We're ok love" he said. Hinata slowly opened her eyes, blushing at how closer their faces were, once again trapped in his deep blue eyes. Naruto smiled and looked up at the top of the cliff. He could see the wagon and horses all well as the others huddled over the edge. Hinata on the other hand was still starring at him, her heart pounding.

"Boss you ok!" shouted Kiba.

"Ya I'm fine!" shouted back the blond, "The Princess is fine too."

"Give us a sec we'll get you up-"

"No keep heading to the village" interrupted Naruto.

The rest of the gang frowned confused. "We're wasting time let's move! That's an order!" shouted Naruto. The others jumped and got the wagon and horses moving. Naruto smirked and looked down at Hinata who was still staring at him. "Let's go your highness, we have some ground to cover" he said but she seemed too spaced out to hear him.

"Um love you can let go of me now." Hinata blinked in surprise and began to blush like mad when she saw not only what position they were in but how tight and close they were. She let go abruptly falling on her rear. Naruto laughed and held out his hand to help her up but she quickly got to her feet and turned around, far too embarrassed to look him in the eye.

"Well then let's go" said Naruto with his hands in his pockets. Hinata remained quiet as she followed him.

ax

A good hour had passed since Naruto and Hinata fell into the swap. To their luck there was enough ground for them to cross through it without having to get wet. However the dense mangroves and foliage made travel difficult. Well, difficult for Hinata who had never done such things before. Naruto on the other hand found it to be nothing more than a morning stroll and frowned when he noticed Hinata was lagging behind. He sighed.

"Let's take a break" he said leaning on a tree trunk. Hinata stumbled to a large tree root that had been lifted out of the ground due to flood waters. She sighed as she rested, wondering how Naruto could easily travel through this swamp.

"We really need to work on your stamina" said the blond. "It's only been an hour and you look beat."

"Well it's not as if I do this every day" huffed Hinata. "And why did you tell the others to move on? If they helped us out we wouldn't have to cross this swamp."

"We can't leave love" replied the blond.

"Why?"

Naruto picked up a pebble and flicked it in the air with his thumb. It flew over the canopy but suddenly struck something causing velvet electric sparks and vaporized the pebble. "This swamp is emitting its own barrier. We couldn't leave even if we wanted too."

"So we're stuck here!" asked Hinata, standing up panicked.

"If we make it to the end, I think I have a spell to cut through the barrier" said Naruto.

"You think?"

Naruto smiled and placed his hands in his pockets, "Yup. Never tested it before." The princess fell back onto the tree root. How on earth was he so calm?

"Let's get moving" he said, continuing to walk. Hinata's mouth opened to speak up but couldn't' think of anything to say. She really didn't have any other option than to trust him. She stood up and took a step but felt pain in her right ankle causing her to cry out. Naruto stopped and looked over his shoulder.

"You alright love?" he asked.

"I-I'm fine" she said trying to take a few more steps but she winched every time she put weight on her foot.

"No you're not" said the blond walked up to her. "You hurt yourself didn't you? Is it your ankle?" Hinata remained quiet for a few moments. She was becoming a burden again. She glanced at him and saw his eyes were filled with concern.

"Yes" she said quietly. Naruto sighed and placed his hands on her shoulders seating her back down on the root.

"Well let's take a look at it then shall we?" He lifted her right foot with his left hand and held her leg with his right holding her calf. He removed her shoe and pulled up her pant leg slightly to inspect her ankle. He gently moved her foot asking if she felt pain. She winced immediately.

"It's probably a small tear. Nothing serious" said Naruto. Strangely though, he didn't take his hands off her so quickly. He felt her ankle with his hand, and slowly brought it up her calf. Hinata sharply sucked in her breath. What was he doing? She wanted to say something, anything, but a sensation she had never felt before was coming through. Her heart began to pound and her body was steadily becoming hotter.

Naruto was also felling strange. Her skin was so smooth and soft. He really liked how it felt. But why couldn't he stop? With inhuman effort he removed his hands from her, pulled down her pant leg and placed her shoe back onto her foot.

"It's a long walk to the end of the swamp" he said a little shakily. He got down on one knee, his back to Hinata, "Climb on." Hinata didn't move for a few moments as her new emotions and sensations were still coursing strong. But she managed to stagger over to climb on his back. Hinata had never felt so embarrassed, awkward and excited; especially all it once. She wrapped her arms around his neck and gave a little gasp when his hands grabbed her thighs.

"Alright let's go" said the blond as he began to jog through the swamp. As he leapt over tree roots, Hinata leaned forward and a pair of large soft object pressed against his back. Narrator's eyes widened realizing exactly what they were and felt his member stiffen.

'It's been far too long since I've been with a woman' he thought quickening his pace.

xXx

If things had progressed like they would have if Hinata was walking they wouldn't have made it to the end of the swap till sun down. But with Naruto's speed and agility, the sun was still high in the sky.

Naruto helped Hinata off his back and to sit her down on a log. "Alright time to cut through this barrier" he said. He took a stance and flexed his right hand in front of him in the shape of a gun.

"**Cum**** Spiritu Meo**** ut ****tu ****liberavit me a ****catena****!**(With the might of my spirit, thou set me free from these chains)" he shouted swinging his hand at the barrier and pointed straight at it. A bolt of crimson lighting jetted out from his finger tips and collided with the barrier revealing a portion of it. But it absorbed it leaving only a small plume of smoke. Naruto stood there with a sweat drop on his left cheek and his eye brow twitching. Hinata watched from a distance and blinked a few times looking from the blond to the barrier and back.

"I don't think it worked" she said.

"Don't fret I got this" he said, "**Cum**** Spiritu Meo**** ut**** tu**** liberavit me a ****catena**!" but the results were the same. He casted and recanted the spell several times but no progress was made. He placed both hands on his knees and he tried catching his breath. "Ok new plan."

"You looked so confidant an hour ago, I guess that there are some things even you can't do" said Hinata casually looking up though the canopy.

"Even a great mage like me has his off days" he said falling on his back spread eagle. "So…what do you want to talk about?"

"Talk?" asked the princess.

"It's going to take a while for the others to find us so we should make the best of things and have ourselves a little chat" he replied turning to look at her. She looked back at him with uncertainty. What could they talk about? She wasn't even sure how far she could trust him. A thief is still a thief. But what could a pleasant conversation do? It was harmless enough.

She took a breath. "When I was a child…I used to visit my uncle in the summer. My mother, my father and my younger sister would go and stay with him for a few weeks, in his mountain castle." She couldn't help smiling at the memories. "That's who I was supposed to stay with until the Kingdom was safe."

"Your uncle is the Dragon of the East?" asked Naruto sitting up.

"N-Not by blood. He's just an old friend of my father" said Hinata waving her hands. "They trained and grew up together back in the Kingdom. They were good friends…"

"Were?"

"Yes…" said Hinata, her smile now gone, "Until they had a fight." Her eyes dropped to her hands. She closed her eyes. "I must have been 10 or 12 when they had that argument. I still don't know what the argument was about…but it was enough for us never to see each other again."

Naruto watched as the young princess continued to stare at her clenched fists. Though she acted very well, the young thief could tell it was talking all her will power to hold her tears in their ducts.

"If you don't want to talk about it-" he began but was cut off.

"No! I-I want to" she said with a little force. "You told me something very personal. I shall do the same."

"You loved him dearly didn't you?"

"Yes…he was like a father to me." She took a few moments before speaking again. "Buy what hurt most was that there was someone else I left behind."

"Someone you left behind?"

"Yes…" she said, "My first…and only friend."

Yet again there was silence. Naruto had thought of telling her to stop if it was too hard for her again but stopped himself. It was her decision to tell him about her past, and his to bring about this conversation. In for a penny, in for a pound.

"I was walking in the village alone. I wore a simple disguise so no one would recognize me….and it was the first time I disobeyed my father" Hinata said with a small smile. "I wanted to see the outside world so I snuck out of Uncle's castle and followed the road to the village. I didn't really know where I was going but I was so excited I didn't really care. When I reached the city streets, I bumped into him. He wore a red bandana that covered most of his head, a cotton shirt and worker pants. But what stood out most were his eyes. His eyes were very similar to yours. I tried to apologize but he did first and then he realized I wasn't from the village and began to show me around. We only spent a few hours together, but I really thought of him as my friend."

Naruto rested his chin on his left palm. "Ya know…he might still be there."

The princess lifted her head and looked at the blond, "R-Really?"

"Aye. That village is in the Zōsen-sho (Shipyard) province right? I'm from that region. There isn't a single reason I can think of for leaving" he said with a grin.

"Then why did you leave?" asked Hinata.

The thief raised his eyebrows making him lift his chin from its resting place. He smirked and folded his arms. "Socioeconomic disparity."

"For money" Hinata said not impressed.

Naruto laughed. "Thief" he reminded her.

Hinata looked at him for a moment before she began to laugh. She covered her mouth to hold some of her laughter back but it could still be heard. This caught Naruto's attention. This was the first time he had heard her laugh. He was surprised to find how nice it sounded. He also noticed how cute she looked like that.

When Hinata stopped laughing she wiped some sweat of her brow. "Is it just me or is it rather warm?" she asked.

"Hmmm. The swamp and vegetation does make the air quite humid, even if it is mid-spring" Naruto said. Something then caught his eye. The princess unbuttoned the top of her Elizabethan blouse to help her cool down. The sweat on Hinata's neck made her skin glisten and oddly made it seem more radiant. Even more so he watched as the sweat rolled down her neck right between her large cleavage. Part of him wanted to look away but a much larger one was happy with the view. To his lucky she wasn't even paying attention as she was more concerned with fanning herself. Even better she moved her blouse, which had become a little sticky from the heat, making her breasts bounce.

Naruto could feel some sweat of his own begging to run down his face and back. This was completely unlike him. To loose his cool so easily. This hadn't happened to him in years. This woman was starting to break his will and nerves of steel. If this went on any longer…

Suddenly a wolf whistle shot through the air.

"Lookin' good your highness!"

Both Naruto and Hinata looked quickly to see, Kiba and the other watching them from beyond the barrier. Hinata panicked slightly and covered herself letting out a little scream.

"Rather early aren't you?" said Naruto miraculously regaining his composure and masking his disappointment and relief perfectly.

"Ya Shikamaru used a pretty cool earth spell on the cliff road" said Kiba, "Thanks to that we didn't have to walk the horses." He then looked at them curiously. "Why are you too just sitting there?"

"Because a barrier is keeping us inside obviously" said Naruto.

"And you can't get out?" Kiba said raising his eyebrows.

"Mendōkusei" sighed Shikamaru walking forward. "This is what happens when you focus entirely on combat magic and ignore the other aspects of magic." He brought his right hand up the same way Naruto had previously done.

"**Yugan Nidawa Onadake **(Open Your Cage)" he said. Suddenly, a pair of gates that looked like those of a birdcage appeared and swung open. Though Hinata stared in amazement, Naruto stood up and walked over to her.

"You need me to carry you love?" he asked. Hinata blinked and looked at him.

"A-Ah no I'm alright" she said standing up and walked through the gate with no visible pain and climbed into the wagon. Not really stopping himself, his eye followed her round rear till it disappeared behind the wagon flap.

'I really need to get my hands on a woman' he thought making his way through the gate.

xXx

In no time at all they had arrived at a small village. They dropped off their wagon and horses at one of the local stables and made their way to an inn. But when they got there, Hinata was surprised when Naruto asked for 2 rooms instead of 6. She wondered if it was going to be one for her and the other was to be shared by the boys. Or was simply they didn't have the money to have separate rooms?

The gentleman at the desk showed them to their rooms. When the princess saw what her room looked like, her concern for Naruto's choice was washed away. The room was small (to Hinata) but had a good bed with a night stand as well as a nice oil lamp. The room also came with its own bathroom complete with a tub and toilet. Hinata was very happy. Her days of cold baths, uncomfortable nights and squatting behind bushes were behind her. At least for a while.

When the gentleman left, she closed the door to her room and immediately disrobed for a well awaited bath. To both her surprise and delight, water entered the tub from a faucet and was also hot. Though she would later learn that it was made possible by magic, at the moment she could care less for the bath water quickly began to soak away her worries.

After her bath, she dried herself and was happy to find her clothes clean and folded on her bed. Peering out her window she was a little surprised to see that it was already dark out and realized she had not eaten a thing. She dressed herself and knocked on the door of the room next to hers. The door opened to reveal Choji.

"Hello your highness" he said with a smile. "Good evening."

"Good evening" she replied, "Are you coming down for dinner?"

"Ah yes. We were waiting for you to finish your bath." While Choji spoke, Hinata looked over his shoulder to see that other than the cook, Sasuke was the only one in the room.

"Where are the others?" she asked.

"Oh out" replied Choji.

"Out where?"

"I'm not sure."

"Do you know what they went out to do?"

"I'm not sure."

Hinata studied the man for a moment before speaking. "You're lying" she said flatly.

"N-No of course not your highness" he said.

"So you won't mind if I go out looking for them?"

Before Choji could say anything, Hinata had already turned round and began walking down the hallway to the stairs. Both he and Sasuke went after her knowing this was going to get unpleasant if they didn't bring her back. They managed to catch up with her at the lobby but only reached her when they had cleared the main doors.

"So you've come to help me then?" she said.

"I really think we should return to our rooms" said Choji.

"I think it would be better to find the others."

"Our boss gave us orders to watch over you at the inn Lady Hinata" said Sasuke.

"That lecher says a lot of things" she replied hotly.

"It's not safe for you to be out here" Chaiji said trying again to get her to reconsider.

"Oh I feel quite safe with you two around."

"Then what if we leave you be?" he said trying one last time.

"Then I shall see you at breakfast" Hinata said quickening her pace. Both Choji and Sasuke stopped in amazement.

"She really determined isn't she?" the cook said to his companion.

"She's head strong and brave I will give her that" Sasuke said with some admiration.

"I guess we'll have to tell her the truth" he said, "Even if it if going to make things difficult."

"I suppose that's simpler than carrying her back to the inn kicking and screaming?"

"This is a secret rescue mission after all."

They quickly walked to catch up with their princess and began to show her the way to their friends. After a few minutes of walking, Hinata began to notice a difference in the village. The buildings were more shabby and the people became more and more suspicious looking. Soon Hinata began seeing a red glow over the roofs of the building and when she turned the corner, she was not pleased with what she saw.

She was in the Red Light District.

She had heard stories of such places. None were flattering. A strange cocktail of smells, colors and sounds began to bombard her, making her feel somewhat queasy. But then something from the corner of her eye caught her attention. She turned her head to see Naruto. Shikamaru and Kiba standing at the doors of large wood house surrounded by women dressed in shamefully exposing dresses. Naruto turned around and waved at them with a big smile on his face.

"Yo you two! Finally decided to join the party!" he began to shout but found his smile disappear with Hinata marched over to him and shot him an angry glare.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"That's my line" Naruto said.

"Hey get back to telling us the story" whined one of the women clutching onto the blonds' right side.

"Ya we want to hear our bedtime story" said another looking exactly like the other woman and also clung onto the thief. The one on the let then looked at Hinata.

"Who's this, your girlfriend?" she asked.

"No she's just a friend" he said. "Choji, Sasuke, take her back to the inn." Hinata was about to argue when she noticed Kiba and Shimakaru each take a woman and enter the house.

"This is a brothel!" cried Hinata.

"Yes we know."

"You're disgusting."

"Comes with the trade love." He wrapped his arms around his two "companions" and headed for the brothel. "Make sure you go back to the inn. We'll see you in the morning."

Hinata, so angry and sickened, she didn't wait for the others as she quickly walked back to the inn.

"Please don't be angry" said Choji with an apologetic face, "This is why we weren't supposed to say anything."

"So why aren't you two joining them?" she asked them forcefully.

"I am above such things" said Sasuke impassively.

"I'm just not comfortable with paying someone to have sex with me" admitted Choji rubbing the back of his neck. "The lack of any emotion doesn't sit well with me."

Hinata face softened and she even smiled a little. "Well, to me you're better men than they are." When they returned to the inn, Hinata didn't bother eating and headed straight for her room. The sight of the blond with those two prostitutes killed her appetite and all she wanted to curl up in a warm soft bed. But to her dismay, the deep sleep she had hopped for never came. Whether it was the anger, the confusion or both that kept her awake she wasn't sure, but something deep down bothered her enough to keep her awake for several hours. Something that seemed to sway to the point that it might be jealously.

xXx

A rooster's cry rang through the morning air causing Hinata to wake. It took her a few moments to collect herself and remembering the previous day's events. She groaned as she rose from her bed. She felt as if she needed another bath to rid her of what happened the night before. But even that didn't fully remove the feelings nor the memories, as they remained ever present. What was she feeling? It could not be jealously. There was nothing to be jealous about. She had no feelings for the blond thief and there for she shouldn't care less if he went to a local whorehouse. But despite all that, she still did.

She dried herself and put on her blouse and slacks that were once again washed and folded on her bed, and made her way down to the dinning hall. But to her surprise, someone was blocking her way.

"Mornin' love."

Hinata ignored him and continued to walk for the stairs but Naruto did not let her leave.

"We have to talk" he said.

"I have nothing to say to you" she replied trying again to pass but this time Naruto became more forceful grabbing her by the arm.

"Let us not forget who's in charge here your highness" he said looking down at her. It was at that moment that Hinata suddenly realized how tall the young man was as he easily towered over her at 6 foot 5 compared to her 5 foot 7. "You are currently being rescued by myself and my men. If I give them an order to watch over you then you must obey them. And not only did you disobey those orders but you went to the most dangerous part of the town. This isn't your happy comfy Kingdom this is the real world where dangers lurk at every corner."

"I would have been fine" she said but was loosing her confidence. She tried to break free from Naruto grasp but instead he pulled to her room and placed her in front of the full length mirror that stood in the corner.

"Look at yourself!" he said grabbing one of her breasts and slapped her rear making her yelp, blush and slightly moan, "You have the body that all men dream of! If none of us had been with you, many would have tried to buy you. And if they couldn't get you with money they would have definitely used force. If you don't want a repeat of what happened the night I found you then you'll do as I say!" He let go of her and turned around but didn't leave. Hinata was still in shock from Naruto actions but was even more shocked by the feeling of him touching her body. When she finally pulled herself together she began to change the flow of the argument.

"W-Well that doesn't make what you did any better" she said.

"What did I do?" he asked looking over his shoulder.

"G-Going into that whorehouse and d-doing s-such a vile act."

"What sex?" Naruto said not noticing the princess' reaction to the word, "Just because sex is the biggest taboo in your society doesn't mean I have to stop. Plus it's been a while since the last time." This time Naruto did notice the uncomfortable look on the girl's face and smirked. "What? Does my words of sex out of wedlock disturb you my dear or is it the act of sex itself displeasing?"

Hinata dared not to utter a word knowing things would only get worse. Her face was red from blush and tried to hide it but Naruto saw it as clear as day.

"Sex! Sex! Sex! Sex! Sex! Sex! Sex! Sex!" he chanted. Hinata's blushed even more and shut her eyes but it only caused Naruto to laugh. "Never mind what society has taught you, I almost forgot you're an innocent virgin. This is all too much for your young ears isn't it?"

Hinata didn't know how much more she could take. As always he was right but there was more. Was it possible she was truly jealous? But for what reason would she be jealous? It didn't make sense. She had no feelings for him so why did she feel this way? As she was deep in thought, Naruto studied her carefully feeling as if he over looked something.

"Hang on just a second there love" he said with a grin, "You wouldn't happen to be jealous now would you?" Hinata's back stiffened. He was right yet again! No he wasn't she was not jealous! But never the less she blushed even more and dared not meet his eyes knowing it would give it all away. To her relief the blond thief turned around.

"But that wouldn't be like you would it now princess?"

Hinata breathed a sigh of relief not realizing that she had been holding her breath. But then Naruto spoke once again.

"By the way, I have something for you." Hinata turned around to see the blond pull out a package wrapped in tan paper about two feet by two feet. Hinata was surprised but took the packed and unraveled it. She gasped at what she saw. It was the dress she saw in the clothing store in the previous village they stopped at. But why had he bought it for her?

"Why…" she began.

"I just wanted to get you that" he said cutting her off. "I saw you looking at it back then and thought, it would be the right thing to do."

"But why?" she asked again.

Naruto sighed. He then looked her right in the eye. "I wasn't fair of me to make you change so suddenly. You're in a completely different environment and it scares you. It's not right to turn you into something you're not without really asking you."

Hinata was quite shocked. She hadn't known him for long but she knew that he wasn't the apologizing type. But she smiled knowing that he was being sincere. She then realized that she could trust him. He was more concerned with her well being as a person than as something of economic value. She held the dress close to her and smiled warmly.

"Apology accepted." Naruto returned the smile and about to escort her to the dinning hall when she asked him a question he was not prepared for.

"W-When you said that I-I had a body that a-all men dream of…is it the body that you dream of as well?"

Naruto started at her with both surprised and fascination. He couldn't help smiling when she buried her face in her new dress to hide her blush. Without a single ounce of shame he replied.

"Yes. Yes I do." He held back his laughter when she squirmed a little and decided to tease her further. "In fact I have come across and slept with many women and none of them had a body like yours." Not wanting the fun to end he leaned closer to her so that their heads were about level making Hinata look up at him. "Are you by any chance flirting with me love?"

Hinata jumped back in alarm. "N-N-No! I-It's just…n-no one has ever complimented me in that way before."

"What really?" the thief said with genuine surprise.

"P-People have always called me beautiful but I always thought it was solely because of my status" she replied honestly. Naruto straightened himself and placed both hands on the princess' shoulders.

"Love, you are drop dead gorgeous both in beauty and in sexuality. You have the body of a true goddess and out shine any woman I have come across and every will in my lifetime."

Hinata stared at him in awe. She knew that he meant it and wasn't exactly sure why she was so happy to hear him say that. Was it because she truly did have feelings for him, or at the very least found him attractive? Or was it because it was the first time she was complemented truthfully without fear of who her family was? Whatever the case may be Hinata was not concerned with it at the moment. She thanked the blond for the dress and walked out of the room feeling her appetite return to her.

Though she did not see what came next, Naruto was watching her carefully, once again enjoying the view of the young woman's round and healthy rear as it swayed away. Along with it came his admiration of her wide hips and long legs making his body instantly crave hers.

He shook his head. Things were going to become more complicated from here on out.

* * *

So what did you think? Please be sure to post a review with your thoughts about this chapter and how the story is progressing. And to reassure many of you who think this long leave of absence was because I no longer plan to write on this site, I will now on post the name of the following chapter to show I plan to write more. This will only change if the fic ends or I say otherwise.

Chapter 7 of A Princess Amongst Thieves is called "The Assassin's Creed"


	8. Chapter 7: The Assassin's Creed

Author's Note:

Hey everybody I AM BACK! This chapter is a whopper at over 10 thousand words (IT'S A NEW WORLD RECORD! AND OVER 9000!). I was gonna upload it on the 15 of November (AC Revelations!) but i've been busy with school and MW3. Now then I have something important to share.

I've decided to make use of my live streaming accounts to do a public reading for chapter 15 of SFE. Don't worry I will be uploading the chapter to fanfiction but I would like to give this a try. To know when it will do the reading, please subscribe to my youtube channel DragonoftheEastblu (no e) and my Deviant Art account DragonoftheEastblue. You can also be kept up to date with updates and information of future chapters and stories.

I'll upload either a video on YT or a journal post on Da about the exact time and day I will read. This won't take too long as I have already drafted chapter 15. Also I wanted to give you all an early Christmas gift as I am taking off to my homeland of Italy. I will be writing during that time so I will probably do another live stream reading when I return.

Also, I plan on doing a little Q and A before I actually read just to clear up some questions you may have for me. However, I will only wait half an hour before shutting off the stream if not enough people show up. Granted I won't give up so easily and will try again. I think this way I can express my own work and give you all a better understand of it all.

Thanx so much for all your support the last few years and hope to see you all at the live stream.

Your author, DragonoftheEastblue

Chapter 7: The Assassin's Creed

Hinata had learned quickly that they would not be spending much time in a single town or village. Naruto would only allow a single night's stay, and bright and early be on the road again. The princess wasn't too bothered by it as she was eager to see more of the world. But what happened on their next stop was not something she was expecting.

"Festung?" asked Hinata.

"Aye" replied Naruto, keeping an eye on the pair of horses drawing their wagon. "It's a large town just west of here. So large in fact you could call it a city. Shops, markets, smiths, craftsmen anything you need. Including what we need most"

"Which is?" asked Hinata folding her arms, still a little miffed about the previous day's events. Naruto picked up on this and laughed.

"To find a job!"

Hinata blinked in surprise, "You're serious?"

"Of course. We have precisely 5 gold pieces left. That would get us nowhere. A town of this size would definitely have jobs with good pay."

"No I meant a thief trying to find some honest work…is that a joke?"

"As mean as ever."

"I-I am not mean!" defended Hinata placing her hands on her hips, cheeks slightly red.

"Hahahaha!" laughed the blond, "You'll never get married if you continue to act like that!"

"S-S-Say's you!" shouted Hinata, folding her arms, cheeks now filled with even more color. This only made Naruto laugh even harder.

"Where did you get that scar?" she asked not wanting him to get the last laugh.

"What this?" he asked pointing to a scar on the left side of his muscular neck, "I got this a while back." He then got a devilish idea. "Why do you ask? Have you been staring at my neck?" he said suggestively.

Hinata's cheeks flared up which led her to pout in embarrassment. To her dismay this caused the blond to laugh yet again as he whipped the horses.

xXx

Naruto had spoken the truth. The village of Festung was truly something else. Its size alone, easily the size of the Zokunen no Mori. But what made it so special was the architecture. Unlike the previous villages which were made of either wood or stone, these building were made of both, forming into Germanic style residences. The flag stone roads were bustling with life as shopkeepers and merchants were kept busy with eager crowds. Though Hinata was thrilled to see such abundance of life, Naruto and the others were not as pleased.

"Bloody Hel this will take hours" said Naruto, "We'll never get to a stable at this rate."

"Aye. Want us to clear a path?" asked Kiba eagerly, followed by a bark from his faithful hound Akamaru.

"Belay that. Let's kill two birds with one stone. Kiba, Shikamaru, Sasuke. Let's split up to cover more ground. Princess, you stay with Choji and fine us a stable."

The cook nodded as his fellow thieves jumped onto the roves of the town building and dashed in different directions. Things were quiet for a few minutes before Hinata spoke up.

"Are they really going to look for jobs?" she asked.

Choji laughed as he led the horses down the street. "Things are not so black and white out here your highness."

Hinata, though not totally satisfied with the answer, knew that he was right. These new experiences were teaching her that the world was far more diverse than what she was accustomed to back home. For now she would just have to sit back and wait. What could go wrong?

xXx

"Nothing?" she asked.

"Nothing" said Kiba falling back first into a pill of hay. "Either too low pay or too mediocre. Why waste our time?"

Hinata shook her head. Calm down. It was just Kiba. The others would surely find something.

"My apologies but there was nothing to be found" said Sasuke.

Shikamaru merely grunted.

Hinata fell into a sloppy seiza position, completely down cast. Where they so tuned to their lives of thievery that they could not even do a single bit of honest work? She wondered if trusting Choji was the wisest move. Right on cue to prove her wrong was the man of the hour.

"I got one!" he said.

"Really?" they all shouted.

"Aye, and it pays one thousand gold coins" he said with a grin. He walked to the back of the wagon and climbed in.

Safe Hinata, everyone's mouths fell open. With a thousand gold pieces they could live the high life for easily half a year. Hinata, who was born with such wealth and more around her, was not quite as fazed by the sum. However she knew that money always had strings attached. There were only a few jobs that paid out such money, and she knew every one.

"Who are you robbing?" she asked, quite cross.

Naruto laughed expecting such a question from her. "Fear not my dear princess. This job was commissioned by the mayor Starker Herrscher himself" said Naruto from inside the wagon. "See for yourself." With the aid of magic, the young warrior sent a folded piece of parchment towards his staff wielding friend. Shikamaru caught the parchment and unfolded it. He snapped his fingers causing his half-moon glasses to appear in a plume of smoke and placed them on his face.

"I, um Starker Herrscher, der Bürgermeister von Festung, mein Konkurrent Brandt Koenig für die Summe von tausend Goldstücken gelöscht werden" he read aloud before remembering that the others did not speak the language of this region.

"I, Starker Herrscher, mayor of Festung, order my competitor Brandt Koenig to be erased for the sum of one thousand gold pieces" translated Hinata with clenched fists. "In other words…"

"Assassination" finished Naruto standing behind her. She spun round and was taken aback by what she saw.

Naruto was dressed completely in black. A hood covered his head and his eyes leaving only his mouth visible. A short assassin's cloak hung from his shoulders along with a belt from his right shoulder, across his chest and to his left midsection. A long vest covered his chest and back with a long sleeved shirt was underneath and jet black pants. To top things off he wore a pair of leather gloves, boots and ornate sash around his waist. (A/N: Basically a combination of Altair and Ezio's assassins' robes in black).

"So how do I look love?" he asked with a smile.

"Absolutely not!" shouted the young woman. "Of all jobs to take you choose murder? That is unacceptable!"

"Noted but how do I look?" he asked again taking a small pose. Hinata's right index finger dug itself into his chest with her left resting tightly against her left hip.

"Murder is inexcusable!"

"Says the girl who killed a few men herself" he shot back smiling.

"As an act of self-defense!" she shouted twisting her finger deeper with every word. Amazingly she was actually pushing him back, making him take step after step as not to fall over. "You…cannot…simply…take…a man's…life…for…money!"

"So no comment on how I look?" Naruto asked again; from his mouth and tone of voice he was giving a puppy-dog look.

Hinata shot her hands in the air in frustration, as he did not regret his actions in the slightest. She stormed off as not to attack him; even though she knew she would have lost. Back in the stable Naruto was having a hearty laugh. She was just too adorable sometimes.

"I think you look smashing boss" said Kiba.

"You're too kind" he said pretending to swoon.

"On a more serious note" said Shikamaru placing the death warrant in his jacket and removed his glasses which vanished the same way they appeared. "How does it fit?"

"Aye" said Sasuke, "It has been a while since you've worn that my lord."

Naruto hummed in agreement as he did a few stretches and twists. "Fits like a glove." He quickly opened his hands causing a pair of hidden blades to thrust out from his sleeves. He grinned and clenched his fingers slightly causing the blades to retract.

"When do you plan to strike?" Shikamaru asked.

"Tonight" replied the blond. "Clouds are moving in from the East and will cover the city by the time the sun sets; a moonless night. I shall strike from the darkness and return before the birds awaken.

"Good."

"I wish you the best of luck my lord."

"A thousand gold pieces" grinned Kiba.

"Want me to buy you a bottle of fine wine to celebrate?" asked Choji with a smile.

"The best Rum in the shop" Naruto replied with a grin. "If not, buy a hundred gold's worth!"

"And what of the princess my lord?" asked Sasuke.

The blond thief kept his grin. "She's developed a good habit of training when she's annoyed by me. Keep an eye on her so she doesn't do anything stupid."

"As you wish" the cloth covered thief. In the blink of an eye he vanished, reappearing on the stable roof and bolted off to find their cargo.

"Shikamaru" said Naruto, "You know what to do."

Wearing a slightly bored look on his face, the pony-tailed thief nodded and vanished in the same manner as his friend. Naruto walked back to the wagon and withdrew a small stool and sat on it. He crossed his legs, summoned his new book of magic and began to read, waiting patiently for the night to arrive.

At the edge of the village, Hinata was doing pushups as to be finally able to draw her bow. "That…infuriating…no good…thief!" she said between each pushup. Above her was Sasuke resting with his back to the tree. Under his red cloth he was grinning, knowing that she grew more interesting as the days went by.

xXx

The clouds hug over the city of Festung, shielding it of both the moon and the stars. A dark figure jumped over the roofs of the buildings, barely making a sound. It landed on the edge on a particularly tall building and stared at the view before it. A large castle with a tall wall surrounded it stood at the very centre of the city. The figure stared at it.

"_Talk to me Shikamaru."_

"_Brandt Koenig's castle is at the very centre of the city. His ancestors were the kings of this province. But that was before the formation of the Kingdom. Because of his ancestry, Koenig believes he has the right to rule Festung and has been trying to become mayor for the last 25 years."_

"_And he hasn't been successful because?" asked Naruto._

"_There's only been 5 elections for mayor but Herrscher has won every time. With another election coming up, Koenig is getting desperate. He's already made deals with local and foreign thief gangs to kill Herrscher but as you can see it has failed. Herrscher doesn't want Keonig to get lucky and wants him taken care of."_

"_I didn't ask for a history lesson Shikamaru. I want to know the playing field."_

"_Mend__ō__kusei, why do I bother? Anyways, the castle is 1000 feet squared and there's a 30 foot wall that surrounds it. Obviously this isn't the problem. There are guards that regularly patrol the wall on both sides. There are even guards on the wall itself as the wall is over 6 feet in width. Skillful archers are stationed at every corner. In total there are well over 100 guards."_

"_Sounds like fun" said Naruto grinning._

"_This is a stealth job Naruto. Don't do anything stupid" warned Shikamaru._

"_Have you so little faith in me? Tell me how I get through the courtyard. I assume you have a plan?"_

"_As much as it annoys me, I won't let a thousand gold pieces slip away. The courtyard is also a garden with large bushes, conifer trees and boulders. Thanks to the clouds you will be able to easily use them for cover to reach the castle doors. This is when things become difficult. There will be two heavily armed guards guarding the doors. You must take them out quickly before making it into the castle._

_When you make it inside there will be less activity but I'm certain there will be some guards. I've made you a map of the inside and where Koenig is. He usually spends his time in his study and you will most likely find him there. If not he'll be in his chamber which I've also marked down. After you kill him use the chimney in his study and make your way to the eastern wall. Koenig built himself a secret escape route if his castle was ever under siege. That will be your escape route."_

"_You've done well Shikamaru. The first thing we'll do after we claim our reward is head to the nearest book shop and buy as many books you want." _

"_Ha! There is not enough money in this world to buy all the knowledge I desire. But I shall take you up on your offer."_

Naruto grinned and he prepared himself for the long night that awaited him. Timing it perfectly he jumped off his perch and dived down aiming for a hay cart, landing in the t-bone position. He didn't move for a few moments making sure no one heard or noticed his jump. When he heard nothing he jumped out of the cart and made his way to the last row of buildings before the castle. As Shikamaru had said, there were guards patrolling the grounds and the top of the wall. Naruto knew he would have to time things perfectly to make it across undetected. He watched a pair of guards moving in from his left and noticed another pair coming from his right. He waited knowing his moment had come. When the guards had their backs to each other he ran as fast as he could and hid in the shadows of the wall.

Naruto quickly began scaling the walls of the castle. Though castles of this design had smooth walls to prevent anyone from climbing them, with wind, rain and time, the wall had lost its smooth surface, leaving in its place perfect footholds. When he finally made it to the edge he waited patiently for the guards and archers to be in their blind spots. He knew if he could make it across the wall the rest of the night would be a cake walk.

The blonds' patience was rewarded as the guards were all lined up perfectly in their blind spots. He wasted no time and hoisted himself over the wall, kicked off and dived into the vegetation bellow as he did before. Once again he waited to hear if the alarm had been sounded. It seemed his luck was holding out as all was quiet. Remembering to keep to the shadows, Naruto made his way slowly through the garden, avoiding the patrolling guards who were still unaware of his presence. When he reached the end of the garden he saw his next obstacle waiting for him.

Two guards dressed in 15th century Germanic armor and carrying voulges were guarding the main castle doors. Naruto knew that a frontal assault was not an option. But he quickly saw one that was. The guards were wearing helmets that blocked their peripheral vision making attacks from the sides simple. He cautiously made his way to the walls and used their shadows as cover. When he was within 20 feet of them, he charged at them in full sprint. At the right moment he began to run across the wall and kick off causing him to half spin with his chest facing the doors. He opened his hands letting his hidden blade shoot forward and stabbed them clean through the heads of the guards. He dropped with them that their suits of armor did not clatter to the ground. Naruto knew that this was when things became a race against time. He used the voulges of the dead guards to prop them as if they were standing. He knew it was only a temporary fix but it was better than leaving their bodies in plain sight or even hiding them in the garden. With the deed done, the blond opened the doors and shut them gently behind him.

Just as Shikamaru had said, there was little activity in the castle. Using the map he was given, he made his way to Koenig's study. Half way to the study, a pair of lightly armored guards appeared down the hall Naruto needed to cross to make it to his target. He quickly moved to the halls interception and placed his back against the wall, waiting for them to pass. His luck continued to hold out as the guards passed him without notice. The blond walked briskly down the corridor knowing his prize was drawing near. He looked down at his map and saw he needed to turn to the left. Down that hall was Koenig's study.

He slowed down when he reached his turn and slowly peered over the edge. As he had expected, there were two more guards, this time guarding the doors of the study itself. Naruto grinned knowing there was only one way to get passed. He turned the corner and walked quickly towards them. The guards quickly readied themselves as they had orders to kill any intruder; though they were terribly confused on how he made it inside. Without hesitation, the blond let two free hidden daggers fall into his hands and, holding them from the blade, threw them at the guards, striking them in the upper chests. They let out small groans as they slowly dropped to the floor.

Not wasting any time, Naruto walked to the doors of the study and dropped to one knee. He turned over his left forearm and undid a small strap revealing a flap of leather with long files and picks were strapped. He pulled out two long picks and began picking the lock of the study. After a few moments he heard a small satisfying click as the mechanism released the locking pin. He returned the picks to their straps and prepared to strike as he only had a few seconds to end Brandt Koenig's life. He gently opened the door and saw that Koenig had his chair turned so that it faced the window. Naruto grinned as this made things simpler and was about to make his move when Koenig's chair turned slowly to the right, letting Koenig fall to the floor dead. Naruto stared with mild confusion as a figure appeared from behind the chair.

The figure had a brown hood and cloak that covered his face, shoulders and most of the sides of his body all the way to his ankles. He wore simple leather armor with a silver bulked belt across his mid-section; holding several leather bags and pouches. He wore leather boots and long fingerless leather gloves and in his left hand, was a leather bound document.

"Hey now" said the blond closing the door behind him and walked slowly to the center of the study, "He was my kill mate."

The brown assassin was startled by Naruto and quickly threw a knife at him. Faster than most, the blond half twisted his body letting the knife fly past him and embed itself into the wooden doors behind him.

"Well that's not very nice" he said. Too fast to see Naruto threw a knife of his own at the assassin causing him to jump to the side to avoid it and dropping the document in his left hand. The blond, using that as a distraction he sprinted to the brown assassin and jumped onto the late Koenig's desk. The Brown Assassin reacted quickly with a high right roundhouse aimed at Naruto's head but missed as Naruto leaned back letting the heel of the boot fly past his nose by mere centimeters. The attack hadn't ended however as the Brown assassin used the momentum of his kick to spin his body and left arm to draw a dagger and slash it at the blond mage's throat. Naruto evaded it by back flipping off the desk and did another landing in the center of the study once again with a large grin on his face.

The Brown Assassin gritted his teeth in annoyance. He turned his back to the blond and leapt through the glass window disappearing out of sight. All Hel broke loose then. The guards immediately heard and saw what had happened and were already making their way to the study. Naruto walked over to the desk and looked out the window but couldn't see the assassin.

"Didn't even say good bye" he said a little miffed. Then something caught his eye. He looked down and saw the leather bounder document. He picked it up and looked at in curiously, a little surprised that it weighed. He looked over it and ran his fingers over a large insignia of a Mountain Ram.

Naruto shoved the document into his robes as he knew he had little time to make it out before the guards were upon him. He looked over the edge of the study window and saw a large pond that nearly stretched from the castle to the wall.

"That'll do just nicely" he said. He stepped out the window with his arms spread and let himself drops feet first, cloak flapping behind him. He fell close to the wall and waited for the right moment. With only ten feet left before he made contact with the ground, Naruto bent his legs and kicked off the wall so that he shot forward and dove into the lake. With such kinetic energy, he cut through the water with ease and made it across in one go. He quickly got out of the pound and stayed in the shadows till he made it to the rear of the castle. Once again Shikamaru was right as the "secret" escape route was before him. Before the guards even made it to their beloved lord, Naruto had already disappeared into the night.

xXx

"Absolutely vunderfull!" praised Herrscher with a large smile on his face. "Vhen I heard of the death of Koenig I knew of your success!" Starker Herrscher was a small but energetic man with a strawberry blond beard and matching shoulder length hair. He wore a large thick red wool sweater with an elaborate vest that covered his large gut. He had beige slacks and leather boots which made him look like Nikolaus (the Germanic Santa Claus). "I shall be eternally grateful. Zat man had gone too far. I vish things could have been resolved vithout bloodshed but I had no other choice. Now, your payment."

That was when Naruto stepped in. "Keep it" he said holding up his hand.

"Vas?" said Herrscher confused, "Vhy would you refuse the pay?"

"Because I'm not the one that killed Koenig" Naruto said. "When I entered his study, I saw his body on the floor with another assassin over it." He looked up at the mayor that had a confused look on his face. "I have a strong feeling that the other assassin is coming for you as well."

Herrscher began to panic. "Das ist emporend! (This is outrageous)" he cried. "Who vould vant to kill me and Koenig? Koenig has made many deals vith criminals! I have done no such things!"

"Mach dir keine Sorgen Bürgermeister Herrscher (Don't worry Mayor Herrscher)," Naruto said calmly, "Ich habe einen plan (I have a plan)."

Outside the mayor's office, the others were waiting. Hinata was not happy in the slightest. She knew they needed money but killing for money was not right. It did not help that it was a Politian that was paying them. As the daughter of the king and future leader of her nation she knew that there was a different solution that violence. Even though she was mad, she had noticed that the other thieves were not as excited as she had expected them to be.

Suddenly the doors of the mayor's office opened revealing Naruto with a smile on his face. Immediately Hinata was on him.

"Well? Are you happy? Killing someone for mon-" she began but Naruto placed a finger on her lips.

"You'll be pleased to hear that I did not take the money as it was not I who killed Brandt Koenig" he said. This caused the other to groan.

"Why boss!" shouted Kiba confused. "Even if you didn't do it there was no reason not to take the money!"

"The reason is because our boss has far too much pride for a thief" said Shikamaru just as annoyed.

Hinata on the other hand was speechless. He refused the pay because he didn't do it? How could a thief have both honor and pride? All her anger towards him was melting away.

"Exactly" said Naurto removing his finger and smiled, "A thief I may be but I know the value of hard work. Anyways, I set us up with another job paid by the mayor for the same pay. Also there's no killing involved. Happy love?"

After those words had left his mouth followed by his charming smile, Hinata felt her heart pound. Why did he have that effect on her? Was it because he did know the difference between right and wrong and it made her so happy? Or was it just because it was Naruto? He stirred her very soul and she had no idea why. Just what was the feeling she felt in her heart? It was painful and exhilarating at the same time. Crushing but lifting. It was driving her mad.

"So what is this plan then?" asked Shikamaru, though not showing it, was very happy that they would still be getting their one thousand gold coins.

"We can talk about that later" said the blond nonchalantly. "The mayor gave us 200 coins upfront" he said holding up a leather pouch, "Let's grab some breakfast and supplies. Then I'll give you all the juicy details."

With that, the group began walking towards the shopping district with a new spring in their steps. And in Hinata's case, a new skip in her heart.

xXx

The night was young, but that did not stop the Brown Assassin from making his way to Herrscher's estate. He bolted from the shadows' of a small house to under a small cart against the estate walls. Slipping through the gap between the wall and cart, he climbed over the wall and ran across the small courtyard to the shadows of the opposite side. He easily slipped past the guards and made his was inside the estate. He made his way through the halls of Herrscher's estate until he saw two guards in front of his study much like it was at Koenig's castle the night before.

However, he knew it would not as easy as last time to make in past the guards. He looked around for some way to get through. He grinned under his hood when he saw it. He began to climb the wall till he reached the ceiling and slowly made his way across till he made it above the two guards. He let himself fall as he struck both guards in the back of the head, knocking them out cold. He grabbed the set of keys from the belt of one of the guards and tired each one till the door unlocked. He opened the door and began walking to the desk.

"Glad you could make it" said a voice.

The Brown Assassin halted in his tracks recognizing the voice. The chair at the desk turned revealing Naruto dressed in his assassins clothing, sitting patiently with the tips on his fingers pressed together.

"Before I answer any of your questions," began Naruto getting up from his seat, slowly walking around the desk, "I have to explain what you did wrong this evening. Because you were so desperate to get your hands on this" he held up the leather bond document he found the night before, "You let the obvious elude you. You should have noticed how easy it was to get through the mayor's defenses and aborted the mission as it was a trap. But you didn't. That means this document is more valuable than your life. My question is why. I haven't opened the document because I wanted to hear it from your mouth."

The Brown Assassin remained quiet. Naruto sighed.

"I know about the Brotherhood" he said causing the assassin to recoil, "I recognize the insignia. I also know all about your Assassin's Creed and that you'd choose death over giving up any information on your comrades or the Brotherhood. Why don't you just tell me what I want to know before things get messy?"

The assassin's answer was short and sweet; a knife thrown at the document. Naruto simply moved it out of the way, letting the knife embed into the window frame behind him.

"Alright then" said the blond tossing the document onto Herrscher's desk, "Let's do it your way."

The assassin swung open his arms sending six knives at the young thief before charging him. Naruto spun round opening his cloak catching the tips on the blades and knocking them off course. He only had a split second to react as the assassin revealed a hidden retractable knife of his own and tried to plunge it into the mage's chest. Naruto grabbed the assassin's knife wielding wrist to hold it at bay as he slammed his palm into the chest of his attacker. The Brown assassin flew backwards but managed to back flip in midair so that he could land on his feet. He rushed forward and sent a fury of attacked trying his best to hit the blond. But to his dismay Naruto parried everyone; with a grin on his face no less.

The Brown Assassin was growing angrier by the minute, and Naruto was keen enough to detect it.

"I know I know, I'd be angry too" admitted Naruto. The assassin stood their silent. "I see the cat still has your tongue." He took a step forward. "Maybe I should do something to untangle it." Without warning, he firmly placed his lips on the lips of the Brown Assassin.

The assassin's shot open not expecting this to happen. He immediately pressed his hands against the blond chest to free himself causing his hood to fall back revealing his brown hair tied into buns and his burning cheeks upon a _very _feminine face.

"Y-You bastard!" she shouted.

"Ah so you can talk" said Naruto smiling. "Just so you know I never take a chance without knowing 100% the outcome."

"How did you know I was a woman?" she demanded.

"Well the high heeled boots gave it away. Kind of hard to miss when they're only a few centimeters from your face."

"Maybe you would like a closer look" she threatened.

"Only if you take them off" said Naruto both playfully and suggestively.

The female assassin gritted her teeth and charged at the blood mage. She drew a dagger in her left hand with the reverse grip and stabbed at his throat. Naruto shot his right hand up quickly to block the attack by grabbing her wrist. Not giving him time to recover, the female assassin brought up her right knee to strike the blond in the gut. This time Naruto caught the attack with his left hand. However, he didn't know this was all according to her plan. She reached for the heel of her right boot and yanked it free, revealing it was a small knife, and plunged it into the blonds' exposed neck.

Naruto jumped back and pulled out the small knife. "A knife in the heel of you boot? Very ingenious" he said taking a closer look at it. He grinned, "And it's poisoned." He immediately began to sway and loosing his footing. The female assassin saw the poison was working and redrew her retractable knife to deliver the final blow.

To her astonishment, he managed to grab her and throw her over his shoulder, and slam her onto the floor. Before she lost consciousness, the blond said four words that explained her downfall.

"Fortunately I'm an herbalist."

xXx

The assassin groaned and slowly opened her eyes.

"Well look who's awake! Sleep well love?"

She blinked several times trying to wake herself and saw Naruto looking at her with a bright smile, sitting on a chair. She looked around her to see she was in a stable, and that she was sitting in a pill of hay with her arms and legs bound.

"Why am I sill alive?" she demanded.

"Yes that is a good question to ask yourself every morning" remarked Naruto.

"Huídá wǒ de wèntí nǐ sèláng! (Answer my question you pervert!)"

"Wèishéme dàjiā dōu rènwéi wǒ shì sèláng ma? (Why does everyone think I'm a pervert?)" he said startling her, not expecting him to be fluent in her language. "You should be grateful. I told old man Starker that I killed you and I destroyed the document." This caused the young woman to panic but Naruto held up the document showing it was still intact. "As I said I never opened it but I told him that it was filled with 'dirt' on him and his rivals."

She was speechless for a moment, not sure why he would do such a thing. But then something hit her.

"How are you still alive?"

Naruto grinned. "As I said, I am an herbalist. My body is coursing with anti-bodies. To understand how much poison is in me, I shall give you an analogy. If a rattlesnake were to bight me, it would be dead long before I even knew it bite me. Savvy?"

The assassin was once again speechless, as she had never encountered such an individual before. There was however one question that was still left unanswered.

"Why am I still alive?" she asked again.

"You ask a lot of questions" said Naruto getting up from his seat. "As I said…I'm saying that a lot aren't I?...I know of your Brotherhood for I recognized the seal of the Ram on the leather file. I've searched for its secret stronghold somewhere in the surrounding mountains but I've never found it. But with you, I'm most certain I'll find it."

The assassin gritted her teeth. "Is that why you kept me alive? For me to betray my brothers and sisters?

Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "For the most part" he admitted, "but another part is that a certain person wouldn't forgive me if I did kill you. She's really against this sort of thing."

'She?' thought young woman thought, 'A girlfriend?'

"Anyways it's not as if I want to take down your stronghold. I merely wish to meet with the infamous Ram of the Northwest Mountains. Nothing more. And if you want your document back, taking me to him is your best bet. At first I thought you wanted to destroy this but how you reacted when I said I destroyed it reveals it contains information more valuable intact. Your call."

The woman assassin was not pleased in the slightest but new she had no other choice.

"Fine."

"Excellent" smiled Naruto. "Now then, since we are officially cohorts, proper introductions are in order. I am Naruto, Naruto the thief. And you my dear?" he said talking a gentleman's' bow.

She frowned at his attitude but responded. "Tenten, Tenten the weapons mistress."

"Tenten…that's a lovely name. And you are a lovely lady. You should smile more. It suits you better than that frown" he said before turning his back to her and headed for the stable doors. Immediately Tenten's face softened and her cheeks were flustered. She quickly cursed herself for being stirred by his sweet words, no matter how much she enjoyed hearing them.

The group quickly packed up their gear and supplies and left the village. As usual Sasuke was riding his horse to cover their flanks while Kiba was riding his horse in front along with his dog Akamaru to check for traps and ambushes. Naruto was at the reins of their covered wagon while Choji was sitting in the back along with Shikamaru who was happily counting their newly acquired gold. Hinata was sitting with her back to the driver's seat with Tenten to her right. Hinata was surprised to find the assassin was a woman and wasn't sure what to do when Naruto had asked to talk to her. Fortunately Tenten would do the honors.

"Are you a thief as well?" she asked.

"Never!" Hinata replied strongly, "I would never allow myself to drop to that level."

"I agree."

"But you are an assassin!" said the princess incredulously. "You are no better than a thief. You make your money by killing others. The pot calls the kettle black."

"That's true but my order never kills the innocent. Not everything in this world is black and white. That is the teachings of Yin and Yang and the one we follow. I killed Brandt Koenig because he was a tyrant and had acquired valuable information from my order" said Tenten calmly. Hinata then felt a little guilty for yelling at her. If a thief like Naruto could have honor then why not an assassin?

"I'm sorry" she said bowing, "I didn't mean to lose my temper. It's just I'm really against killing and this way of life. To me it's wrong."

Tenten looked at the girl and saw she was sincere. She then realized that she must be the girlfriend of the blond thief that defeated her. She wondered what their relationship was as this girl was clearing not from this part of the world. Her accent alone gave it away but the way she viewed the world and her manners were different. Almost upper-class like.

"My name is Tenten" she said making Hinata raise her head.

"My name is Hinata."

"Oi Tiānshàng de qíngfù (Heavenly mistress)" said Naruto, "There's a fork in the road. Which way do we go?"

Tenten blushed at her nickname and immediately jumped to her feet embarrassed. "Wèishéme nǐ gěi wǒ dǎ diànhuà wǎngfǎ? (Why did you call me that pervert?)" she snapped.

"But that's what your name means in Nihongo" said Naruto defending himself. (a/n: Tenten is a Chinese name but I can't find its meaning except for "ten" which translates to "shí". In Japanese however her name translates to "heavenly" so I decided to have some fun with the language barrier XD).

"What did you need my help with Fǎncháng? (Pervert)" she asked still a little angry.

"Where do we go from here?" he asked pointing at the fork in the road. "And don't call me that."

Tenten looked at the road and the surrounding woods before answering. "The left one."

"Thank you my dear" he said, "Kiba! Go right!"

Tenten's face tightened at his order. "I said go left!"

Naruto turned his head and looked her straight in the eye. "I told you before I've been trying to find your stronghold and I know there is no such place to hide one in that direction. You may not want to trust my word and protect your order but it will all for not." He held up his left palm to her face is if her were going to blow a kiss and a ball of fire flashed to life. "We are not mere thieves, we are mages and we have ways of getting what we want. Savvy?"

Tenten, who had recoiled from the fire, stared at him with angry eyes. She hated him. And if he had not taken away her weapons she would have cut his throat. But she knew now she had no choice but to follow his orders. She sat back down and stayed quiet.

"Good" said the blond making his horses move on after his tracker. They continued their way to the stronghold, heading straight up the mountains. However these mountains were treacherous and only the fool hearty would wonder through them without caution. It made perfect sense the Brotherhood would have their stronghold here. It would take years to find it and one would need a large force of men. That was something Naruto did not have several years ago and was not strong enough with magic to make up for the lack of manpower. This time would be different. He had a member of the order and she would lead him right to it.

However it would not be as easy as he hoped as Kiba halted them from going any further.

"The forest is way too thick for the wagon and for the horses" he said dismounting, "We'll have to go the rest of the way on foot."

"Makes sense" said Shikamaru jumping out of the wagon, "The assassins of the Order of the Ram pride themselves over their amazing physical strength and abilities. This is nothing more than their playground. I'd be impossible for the average human to make it through."

"Well good thing we aren't average humans then" said Naruto with a grin. "Alright let go! Choji, mind the horses." The cook nodded as the other began wearing cloaks to give them the appearance of assassins. Naruto proudly wore his assassin's gear, which made Tenten glare at him. He let her lead the way as he knew she would no longer try to deceive him.

It took them 20 minutes to reach the mountain. And judging from it, it was a long way up.

"Here comes the fun part" said Naruto. Tenten said nothing as she dashed for the mountain and ran up it. She leapt onto small poles that had been spiked into the rock face as a way to make artificial stepping stones. Sasuke, Shikamaru and Kiba swiftly followed her leaving only Naruto and Hinata bellow.

"Let's go love" he said kneeling with his back to her, "Hop on."

Hinata blushed slightly as she wrapped her arms around his neck and blushed even more when his hands grabbed her thighs so that she didn't fall off. Instead of ascending the mountain like the others did, he bent his knees and jumped straight up reaching the ledge in a single bound. Of course this caused Hinata to scream out in surprise and terror. When he landed he gave Tenten a look as if to say "you're up next". She then began leading them through the obstacles to the stronghold as she would not show anything that would hint she was impressed by his abilities.

After a few minutes they reached a small plateau that had been cleared by men. In front of them was a tall door that was built right into the mountain. Naruto let Hinata off his back and with Tenten on point; they made their way to the stronghold gates. When she pounded at the door, a voice boomed from the opposite side.

"Shuí qiāo dìyù de dàmén ne? (Who knocks at the gates of Hel?)"

"Shuí jiànguò qí zuì'è, qí pòhuài, shuí bù zài dānxīn tā (One who has seen its evil, its destruction, and one who no longer fears it)" she replied.

"Huānyíng huí nǚ zhǔrén wǔqì (Welcome back Mistress of Weapons)" the voice replied happily as the gates opened. Tenten led them through the gates up a dirt path with the walls of the mountain at their sides. When they reached the end of the path, the thieves were amazed with what they saw. The roof of the mountain was gone and was open to the sky, casting light to the massive city bellow. There were dozens of buildings with many other assassins jumping from one roof to another, along with others sliding down rope ziplines. High altitude birds flew throughout the center of the mountain giving it the most amazing view.

"It's so beautiful" said Hinata with a heart filled smile. Tenten couldn't help smiling herself, as she was so proud of her home and her order. But it soon faded as she remembered who was with her. Without saying a word she led them down into the village towards the largest structure in the mountain fortress; a small castle with the Ram insignia embroidered into a large red flag. As they walked briskly, Hinata noticed that there were not only assassins running about, but women and children. She now understood why Tenten was so desperate to protect this place from intruders. It was not only the stronghold of her order, but her home and the home of all the assassins of the order as well as their families. She made herself swear never to tell anyone of the exactly location of this place.

When they reached the castle, they walked up the steps to the main doors. The assassins guarding them warmly greeted Tenten and opened the doors. The group walked into the castle and was a little surprised to see that it was not furbished like any castle they had ever seen. There were no expensive tapestries or rugs or anything of monetary value. But there were books. Many, many books. It seemed that not only did the assassins preform assassinations, but also collected a great deal of knowledge. And from the spines of the books, some may be centuries old.

As amazing as it was, Tenten did not let them stare long as she was already making her way up another flight of stairs. The group quickly caught up with her and followed till stopped in front of a desk in front of a very large and detailed but incomplete map of the world. Standing in front of the map was a young man, the same height as Naruto with rough black hair that stopped at his shoulders. He wore similar brown leather assassin's clothing and armor, but wore no hood and had several pieces of green material sewed into his gear. He had his back to the group as he was filling in the missing pieces of the world map from many open books. But he noticed their presence and turned around.

"Tenten!" he said happily, putting down his quill, "Zhè ràng wǒ hěn gāoxìng de kàn dào nín shēntǐ jiànkāng, fǎnhuí de shùnxù (It makes me very happy to see you return to the order in good health)." The man thne saw Naruto's group and looked at them.

"Shuí kěnéng shì zhèxiē rén? (And who might these people be?)" he asked Tenten.

"Nǐ shì xīběi shānqū de Shānyáng ma? (Are you the Ram of the Northwest Mountains?)" asked Naruto stepping forward.

"Wǒ shì tā (I am he)" replied the assassin.

Naruto grinned and pulled back his hood revealing his long blond hair and azure eyes. "I am Naruto the thief" he said grinning. He spoke before the green assassin did to avoid any violence. "I have something that belongs to you" he said calmly producing the document and tossed it to him. The assassin stared at the blond without looking at the leather bound folder.

"My name is Rock Lee" he said, "I ask you, why are you returning this file instead of my best assassin? What is it you want from me?"

Naruto grinned, "I seek an audience with you."

"Oh? For what?"

"Her" said Naruto pulling back Hinata's hood, "She is princess of the Southern Kingdom."

Both assassins recoiled slightly. Tenten knew the girl was out of her element but she had never suspected it would be because she was royalty. However, this didn't explain why he wanted to meet her master. Whether this girl is the princess of the most powerful of monarchs, there was no way her master would grant the pervert an audience.

"Alright you may have your audience" said Lee. Tenten immediately spoke out.

"Lee- zhǔ! (Master Lee!)" shouted Tenten, "You can't possible accept his demand! He wants nothing more than to-"

"Gòule! (Enough!)" shouted Lee causing the young woman to cower. "He requested an audience and I have granted it. Therefore, you have no reason to question my decision. And if I understand the situation correctly, he has returned the document that you failed to retrieve on two separate occasions! You are to wait outside until the audience is over, to which we shall have a long conversation of our own. Bóhuí! (Dismissed)."

"My party will do the same" added Naruto, nodding to the others to leave. Though reluctant, Tenten followed them out.

When the group left the castle, Tenten walked off on her own. She felt confused and angry, feeling nothing was going right. She walked for a few minutes till she reached a small clearing where a lone log with a target pattern was painted on it. She rested a hand on it and closed her eyes. She had to calm down, she was taking he anger out on the wrong people.

"Are you alright?" asked a voice. Tenten turned to see it was Hinata.

"Hina- your highness" she began but Hinata stopped her.

"You don't have to be so formal" she said walking closer to her. "You seem distant and agitated. Is something wrong?"

Tenten wasn't sure how to react but decided to avoid the question. "It's nothing. It's just a little stress I've been building up." She then drew several throwing knives and began to throw them at the log. When she prepared the throw the next one, a knife that was not her own hit the target. She looked to her left to she I was the princess who threw it.

"Oh I'm sorry! It's just that I've been practicing how to throw knives and it's become a bit of a habit" she said blushing slightly. She raised her arm to throw her knife when Tenten stopped her.

"You're holding the knife incorrectly" she said. Hinata blinked confused which gave Tenten the green-light to show her what she did wrong. "If you're using the over hand throw, you should hold the knife so that the blade is towards you" she twisted the knife in the other girl's hand "This way when you throw it in the spin throw, it'll hit the target with the blade towards the ground. It will give the knife more penetration and a better chance of stopping your target."

Hinata possessed the information carefully and did her best to remember every detail. "Thank you" she said.

"Bùshì yīgè wèntí (Not a problem)" replied Tenten. There was then an awkward moment of silence before Tenten spoke up again. "May I ask you something?"

"Of course" replied Hinata.

Tenten paused for a moment. "You and the blond thief; what is your relationship with him?"

Hinata looked at the assassin a little confused. "Well he's escorting me back home."

"Are you his woman?" Tenten said bluntly.

Hinata's cheeks burned up not expecting that was what she meant. "W-What? N-No! O-Our relationship i-is strictly professional!" she blurted out, stumbling over her words. Why was she getting so worked up about this? There was nothing between them. If the assassin was interested in him then so be it. However that didn't seem to sit well with the young princess. "W-Why are you asking? Do you fancy him?"

It was then time for Tenten to feel a bit flustered. "O-Of course not. I have no interest in that pervert."

"W-Well" said Hinata now playing with her hair, "He's not really a pervert. H-He make have gone to a brothel but-"

"He kissed me" said Tenten.

Hinata felt she was losing. Why was she defending him anyways? It was true he constantly flirted with women, hinted at sexual references and even admitted that her body aroused him, but that wasn't perverted, was it? And what did it matter if he kissed Tenten? It was just a kiss. Though she had to admit she had never kissed anyone before. Either way, Hinata knew she had to change the flow of the conversation.

"W-Why are you telling me all this?" she asked.

Tenten looked away for a moment. She wondered if it would be wise to tell her the truth. She strangely felt that she could trust the princess and decided to speak truthfully. "The reason why I, and the order, wanted to retrieve the document back is because of who wanted it and who supplied it. We didn't want to believe it at first but one of our own had betrayed us and was selling information on the Order, its members and its allies." She then turned and looked at Hinata with very said eyes. "The traitor was my boyfriend."

xXx

"You must forgive Tenten" said Lee as he walked around his desk, "She has had a rather difficult time recently and it has put her on edge."

"So I noticed" remarked the blond.

"Our Order has had a breech in security and loyalty" the head assassin continued sitting down. He then motioned for Naruto to take a seat of his own. The young mage did so by creating one with magic. Oddly this did not surprise or startle Lee. "One of our brothers began selling information to our enemies in hope to gain a quick and prosperous future. Alas he failed and met his end."

Naruto cocked his head, "And the traitor would be none other than…"

"…Her partner and lover yes" finished Lee. "I do not think she will ever get over it."

"Did you order her to take his life?"

"Our Order is not so cruel" said Lee, "As leader of this Order of Assassin's it is my responsibility to administer punishment and decree. I publicly executed him for that he would serve as a reminder for what happens to those who forget the code."

"It depends on what code and who's the one doing the forgetting" said Naruto with a smile. "But tell me this Lee; was it Koenig who paid your traitor?"

"Who else?" the assassin replied leaning back in his chair and holding the tips of his fingers together. "He wanted to expose us to gain more votes, and his opponent Starker Herrscher. He and his family have kept our Order a secret for generations. That conniving traitor knew this and used it to his advantage. Now then. Explain to me why the daughter of our king is in your party?"

Naruto waved his left hand conjuring a pot of hot tea and served a cup to his host and himself. "While traveling with my crew in the Northern Mountains I came across her in an alley way. I brought her back to my camp not knowing who she was. My strategist confirmed her identity and we struck a bargain; I return her to her kingdom safe and sound, and she asks her daddy to reward us, savvy?"

Lee took a sip of his tea. "How generous of you. But why ask an audience? What do I have to do with your princess?"

Naruto grinned as he was waiting for this question. "I know your order runs underground trade roots with other branches and separate groups. And one of those roots is across a certain desert." Naruto leaned forward, resting his right elbow on the desk, "I want to cross that desert."

Lee leaned forward himself looking the blond in the eyes. "And why would you want to cross one of the most dangerous places in this world?"

"I have some business to take care of in the Zōsen-sho province" he said leaning back and folding his arms and legs. "It will also make my quest to the south far more pleasant." Lee looked at the blond for a few moments, trying to read him as best as he could. But it was clear that he wasn't going to give up his secrets so easily.

"Alright then." Lee stood up and pulled out a scroll from one of his shelves then we turned to his desk. "Look here" he said unraveling the map, "This is our location" he pointed to a small mountain range, "And this is the best location for you to cross" he said dragging his finger a short ways to the South-East. "This is our main trade roots and our backup routes" he said dragging his finger across the map, "If you use them correctly then you'll make it safely. If not, then you will feel the power of the desert." He rolled up the map and handed it to Naruto. But when he took it Lee grasped his wrist.

"There is still something that is bothering me" the assassin said, "We had someone snooping around a while back trying to find this strong hold. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that now would you?"

Naruto let a smile spread across his face.

xXx

"I loved him, I truly did" said Tenten trying to hold back her tears. "I didn't believe he was a traitor, I couldn't! He was the first lover I ever had and I trusted him."

Hinata listened to her story but wasn't sure what she should do to comfort her. She had been fortunate enough never to have experienced such heart break but this meant that she was unable to help the assassin get over her loss. She then thought of something.

"When I was young, I met a boy. He was cute and funny, and he seemed so full of life."

"What happened to him?" asked Tenten.

"I don't know" admitted the princess, "I haven't seen him in ten years. He was the first friend I ever had. And the more I thought about him over the time we went our separate ways, the more I realized that I had fallen in love with him."

"How did you get over it?"

Hinata shook her head. "I didn't. I don't want to forget him. The short amount of time that we were together was some of the best of my life. I know this sounds selfish and insensitive but there's a possibility that he may still be in Zōsen-sho. I hope I'll meet him again there. But for you, you'll meet someone new who will be even better than your former lover. He'll be kinder and far more loyal."

Tenten looked at her with a mix of emotions. "How can you be so sure? About any of that?"

Hinata smiled warmly, "I just am."

xXx

"You are a very interesting man Naruto the thief" said Lee fiddling with a small cast ring puzzle. "You would make a good assassin."

Naruto laughed, "I've been told that yes. But my life has always been one on the road so settling down in one place for an extended amount of time is foreign to me. But I thank you for the offer."

"Well the offer still stands" continued the assassin putting down the puzzle and moved on to another; a spiral. "The lands have been rather peaceful since the war; especially this province Diutisc (Germany in old German) but there have been rumors that another war will begin." Lee gave up on the spiral and moved on to a puzzle which was made up of two pairs of silver elk antlers. "If another war does spark then I feel that we will have to go into hiding yet again."

"Why may I ask?" said Naruto, "Why not fight along with the King of Thieves?"

"We have our own plans for the world" said Lee, "The methods implemented by the Zéi Wáng (Thief King) are not ones that we assassins agree with. Also, publicly aiding him would have exposed this Order. That must be avoided at all costs." He let go of the elk antlers and picked up square puzzle.

"I understand" said the blond, "You have far more to lose than your order. There are women and children, homes and livelihoods. A true diamond in the rough."

"Yes" said Lee looking up from his puzzle. "This is our treasure. We guard it with our lives for it means more to us than every piece of gold in the world. I am surprised a thief such as you would understand this."

"I do, but my younger self would have not. That was why I was searching for this place. I believed it to be filled with gold, jewels and all the plunder I could wish for. A true treasure chest."

"Ah but it is a treasure chest" said Lee smiling which did not fade when he gave up on a forth puzzle and moved on to his fifth; an iron octagon.

"Aye" nodded the young thief. "A chest filled with treasure that was not mine to claim."

"And what treasure are you trying to claim?" asked the green assassin dropping the puzzle onto his desk. "To cross such a desert just to return a princess does not seem so worthwhile. There is something else you are planning."

Naruto closed his eyes and smiled. "Well…sometimes plans seem to be the greatest of enigmas." He began to pick up Lee's puzzles and solve them one by one. "But when you take your time to look at the big picture and take in all the possibilities...all the pieces come together" he said letting the last puzzle rest on the desk solved.

Lee looked at the blond very carefully. "You seem awfully familiar, have I tried to kill you before?"

Naruto laughed heartily, "Who knows but I do hope we meet again." He stood up and bowed to the head assassin, "If I want to make my deadline I will have to leave now."

"Yes you must" said Lee returning the bow, "Your journey will be a treacherous one. Three thousand miles from one end to the other. Temperatures reaching over 50 degrees Celsius and sandstorms rage constantly. And if the desert itself doesn't kill you, the sand mages that rule its center will. It is known as Huǒ dì hǎiyáng"

"The Ocean of Fire. Sounds like fun" said Naruto, "Till the next time."

"Zhídào xià yīcì" said Lee.

When Naruto left the small castle, Lee sat back down at his desk and looked at his puzzles wondering how the blond had solved them. However something else caught his attention. There was a folded piece of paper he had not seen before. He picked it up and opened it. His eyes scrolled over what was written inside and his eyes widened.

"Cōngmíng de húlí húndàn (That clever fox bastard)."

Next Chapter: The Stick and String

* * *

OMAKE

"How did you know I was a woman?" she demanded.

"Well the high heeled boots gave it away. Kind of hard to miss when they're only a few centimeters from your face.

"Maybe you would like a closer look" she threatened.

"Only if you take them off" said Naruto both playfully and suggestively.

Tenten grinned as she leaned back onto the desk. "Well, would you mind doing the honors?" she said seductively, holding up her right leg. Naruto grinned and walked over to the assassin. He slid his hands on her boot and pulled off her boot revealing her slender foot and toned calf. He ran his hand up her leg and thigh while he kissed her foot, shin and calf. Tenten moaned and the blond worked his way up tilL he pressed her onto the desk and began making rough love with her.

The next morning Naruto collected his reward and left the village of Festung with his crew who were a little curious to why he was so happy.

Back at the Assassin stronghold, Lee looked at Tenten wondering why she was so happy after what had happened with her ex-lover.


	9. This Fic Will Be Deleted

Hello my faithful readers. I have bad news. Due to FF's insane censorship plan most if not all my fics will be deleted. If you want to read my work follow me on Twitter to learn where I'll be reposting. I never thought things would get this bad. Let's hope we can pull through together.

/dragonofeastblu

-Nick, DragonoftheEastblue


	10. Chapter 8: The Stick and The String

Author's Note:

Hey Everyone! He's the next chapter of one of my favorite works! But before you can read it, I must issue a warning.

**The following chapter contains graphic descriptions of the killing, harvesting and butchering of animals. If you are squeamish, have a weak stomach or uncomfortable with such content then please do not read this chapter. Any animal rights activists or Anti-Hunters who flame me for posting such content will not be listened to and will be blocked. You have been warned. Enjoy chapter 8 of A Princess Amongst Thieves. **

Chapter 8: The Stick and The String

The group had been traveling for several days since they left the Assassin's base of operations. They decided it would be best to set up camp in an oak forest to gather the necessary supplies for the trip. Choji and Kiba began to set up camp while Shikamaru and Sasuke went out on sentry duty, leaving Naruto and Hinata at the rear of the wagon. The princess was leaning on the back of the wagon while the blond thief was searching for something.

"What's on your mind love?" he asked without looking up. Hinata blinked not expecting him to figure out what she was thinking; she had to ask him one day how he did that.

"I was simply wondering about how we are going to make it across this 'Ocean of Fire'. Will it be difficult?" she asked. Naruto stopped searching and placed both his hands on the back of the wagon.

"To get you home, we must cross the largest desert in this realm; the Daryaa ze Ates, the Ocean of Fire" explained the blond. "It's a 3 thousand mile long desert that has earned its title as one of the hottest, dangerous and inhabitable places on Midgard. Despite that it is the best and the fastest way to get us to the Eastern lands and then you back home to the South safely. We could use the West Sea to bypass the Daryaa ze Ates but to acquire a ship to take us would be near impossible. And even if we did find a ship and or Captain brave or crazy enough to take us, the West Sea this time of year is too ferocious to sail. Hurricanes, typhoons, whirlpools the occasional sea monster you name it. I promised to get you home safety and I will only take the necessary risks."

His words made Hinata blush slightly, as they showed his genuine concern. This made her look away but not stop her from saying something she knew needed to be said. "Thank you Naruto. To go so far for me means a great deal. I will be forever in your debt" she said.

This time her words took Naruto by surprise but he then smiled and pushed off the sentimentality, returning to his searching. "It's nothing. I'm just doing my job love."

"Maybe..." said the princess curiously, folding her arms as she looked at him much like a cat would. "I think you're doing this for more than the promise of a reward, helping me. I just haven't figured out what it is yet."

Naruto stopped searching again and turned to her. "You're right. There is another reason." Before Hinata could ask what that reason was, her saviour slid his right hand to the small of her back and pulled her close and slid his left hand under her chin to tilt her head up for their eyes to meet. "The reason is I love you my princess."

Hinata froze. What did he say? He loved her? How could this be? She tried to understand what was going on when the blond closed his eyes and began to lean forward. She knew immediately what was happening. But instead of pushing him away or telling him to stop, she closed her eyes and waited for the kiss that was sure to come. But she it didn't opened her eyes.

She saw Naruto laughing loudly and realized she had been fooled. "Ha ha that was hilarious! You actually bought it for a moment didn't you? Ha!"

Hinata folded her arms and looked away completely embarrassed and flushing madly. 'He played me like a fool!' she thought angrily. 'But...why do I feel disappointed? Why was my heart beating like it did?'

"Well then" said Naruto straightening himself out and pulled out a familiar brown leather bundle before throwing it over his shoulder. "Shall we continue with your training?"

Despite her embarrassment she nodded and followed him into the forest to receive her combat training. During the past few weeks she had been practicing her knife throwing and was clearly showing major progress. Her aim had improved tremendously, now able to hit targets accurately up to 10 yards away. Naruto had been showing her how to throw the balanced knives that he had given her to practice with at the beginning of her training, along with the common unbalanced knife in both the overhead and hip throw throwing styles. At first she did not understand the point behind learning a less effective style along with inadequate weapons until Naruto explained it in a simple manner.

"You can't always wait for that Royal Flush to be dealt to make your move. You have to make the best with the cards that _are _dealt to you and not second guess for what's in store."

They were wise words and she knew she would remember them as they could mean the difference of life and death in the future.

It didn't take then long to arrive at their destination; a small clearing still filled with sunlight from the slowly setting sun. Naruto dropped his leather weapons bundle and conjured up an archery target at the opposite end of the clearing.

"Today we are going to continue with your archery training" he explained, "I let you work on your throwing knives but they are only secondary weapons and only work best in close to mid ranged combat, as they lack the necessary power to kill in a single strike. I've wanted to return to it sooner but as you've seen we've been busy."

"But there is no point to it" countered Hinata. "Even with the strength I have gained in my arms from push ups and the hours spent on my knife throwing there is no way I can draw a long bow."

"Then we shall start small." Naruto turned and knelt at his bundle to open it revealing his arsenal and lifting up a smaller 58 inch long recurved chestnut bow and a large quiver of arrows. "This here is a recurved bow. These bows store more energy and deliver energy more efficiently than a standard straight-limbed bow. This means, obviously, that it gives your arrows more power and speed. Unlike the longbows used by your people in the South which are used for combat on the open battlefield, recurved bows are used in forest like areas and on horseback. They are typically easier to draw and because of that, are more suitable for a beginner like you to wield.

"The next thing you need to know about fletching is 'nocking'; that's nocking without the 'k'. Nocking is when the 'nock', the notch at the rear-end of the arrow connects with the string. That is how you keep your arrow in place until you're ready to draw and release it. There are several different ways to draw an arrow. Some are better than others but after years of practice they all can serve you well. You're probably familiar with the Southern Draw" he said, drawing the bow with three fingers, one above the nock and two below. "It's a simple and easy method of drawing for beginners for sure but, the method I was taught is undoubtedly the most effective for all sorts of situations.

"The Eastern Release or 'Thumb Hold' is a very smooth and reliable drawing style. In this style you wrap your thumb around the string below the arrow, and then overlap the thumb with the fingers. Simple isn't it? Right then, ready to give it a go?"

Hinata nodded and took the bow and quicker from her teacher. Following his instruction she took her drawing stance with her feet aimed in front of her with her head turned to the target. She held her bow with an arrow nocked to which she drew using the Thumb Hold and aimed while she was in the holding position. She immediately realised that the force of the bow was much less powerful than the longbow making it easy for her to make her anchor point right at her cheek. When she felt she was ready, she released her arrow, letting it fly at her target. To her disappointment, it struck way above the center.

"Not bad" said Naruto.

"But I completely missed" said Hinata.

"No you hit the target" he replied pointing at the arrow. "I've seen novices miss the whole bloody thing. You on the other hand seem to have some natural instinct when it comes to the Stick and the String." He pulled out a cigarette from a small leather case and placed it between his lips. "Keep at it" he added igniting a match under his boot and lighting his cigarette.

Hinata nodded and drew another arrow from her quiver. And the arrow did not hit the centre of the target but it did not over shoot it. She fired off several more arrows all hitting the upper part of the target forming a two foot group. Her aim was not as terrible as she first thought but it was clear it needed improvement. However, when she released her 6th arrow, she winced in pain.

"Ow" she whispered grasping her left wrist.

"A problem that all novices face" said the blond standing up and walking to his pupil. He gently took her left arm and turned it over, revealing a red mark on her wrist. "The bow string slaps against the wrist every time you let and arrow go. For now it may seem to be nothing more than an inconvenience, but later on it can be fatal. I once met a man who did not take his fletching basics seriously, and moved on to using a power 200 pound longbow. The fool drew his bow so hard it sliced his wrist. He survived but he could never draw a bow again.

"Though I believe that without pain there is no gain and you should learn to avoid having the bowstring hit you as I haven't given you a finger tab or thumb ring to aid you in drawing and avoiding blisters, I shall give you this." Naruto held up in his left hand a simple piece of leather tied to form a sort of gauntlet without the iron plating. "This is a bracer" he explained, "It goes around your non-drawing arm to protect your wrist. Don't get too used to it however. The sound it makes every time the bowstring strikes is loud enough to give away your position when ambushing a group of enemies."

Hinata took heed to his warning and accepted the bracer respectively. With the help of her teacher it was fastened to her wrist and after firing another arrow, she could immediately see the difference. But being a good student, she did not forget her teacher's words and decided it would be best to find a more effective way of using her bow without hitting her wrist.

"Well then you seem to understand things well enough. I'll leave you to it" said Naruto crushing his cigarette butt and walking back to the camp. "Remember love; visualize and release."

Hinata looked at him slightly miffed. She wondered if he was talking this as seriously as she was. "Where are you going?" she demanded.

"Back to the camp."

"And you are just going to leave me here to train on my own?"

"Aye" he replied without looking over his shoulder. "Oh and by the way, try not to be too rough with that bow."

"Why is it fragile?" she asked hotly.

The blond stopped. "No. It was my first bow." With that, he continued to walk back to the camp. Unbenounced to him however, Hinata had unconsciously pressed the bow to her chest as if to shield it from harm, along with a sad worried expression. Why would he entrust her with something so valuable? Did he trust her that much or was he merely pulling her leg? No he wasn't lying. She had no evidence of course but she felt it in her heart. She felt he was telling her something, something he could not say with words. Though she was not certain of what that message was, she understood enough that it gave her courage. She turned to face the target yet again drawing another arrow. She visualized and she released.

xXx

Naruto let out a yawn and looked up into the sky. He had been napping for quite a while and wondered how much time had passed. Judging by the sun around; half an hour. It seemed about enough time had passed and decided to head make to Hinata and check on her progress. He picked himself up and walked back towards the clearing to see the beautiful young woman still firing arrows at the target. On closer inspection of the target he could see that the arrows were hitting closer to the center and were in a much tighter group. When the princess released the last arrow in her quiver, Naruto stepped into the clearing.

"Bravo your highness" he praised clapping, "You've made much progress."

Hinata blinked and looked him rather confused. "I have only been practising for a short amount of time and I haven't even placed one arrow into the center of the target. How have I improved?" she asked.

"The key to fletching is patience and practice" explained the blond walking towards her, "For most novices to this art, after half an hour of practice, you can see some improvement. For you, there is a great amount of improvement. You truly possess a natural talent for it."

Hinata blushed at his praise. It was clear that Naruto was a great archer and receiving praise from him was a great honor, even if she felt she wasn't all that deserving of it. Perhaps she _was _improving after all.

"So how do you feel?" he asked.

"Sore" she admitted still out of breath. She wiped some sweat off her brow which then caught the blonds' attention. Her shirt, or rather his shirt modified by magic to fit her was loosened at the neck to allow herself to cool down, revealing her shoulders glistening with sweat. It also gave Naruto a prime view of her chest rising and falling, with beads of sweat hanging and slowly dripping over the swells of her breasts. It was truly a mesmerizing sight and he couldn't help but stare, though he did his best to remain focused. But how could anyone blame him from falling for her charms? He may be a powerful and fearless warrior mage but he was still a man and not immune to the power and vexation of the fairer sex; regardless of his experience in such fields.

"Well then your highness, looks like we shall call it an evening and head back to camp" said the blond managing to speak whilst hiding his instability due to her beauty. "If you keep going you're most likely going to injure yourself from over staining your muscles."

Hinata nodded and walked to the target to retrieve her arrows. Unbeknownst to her however, the blonds' eyes fell onto her ample rear which was on full display thanks to her tight fitting worker's pants. His eyes then focused more intently as she bent over to pick up an arrow that had fallen from the target; as her rear tightened her pants further. It took him a few moments to snap himself from her spell but when he did he felt ridiculous.

What was wrong with him? Before any other woman he would be the master of his domain, leaving nothing to stop him from doing what he wanted. But with her, he felt she was in control: as if she had casted a spell unto him. If she was at least doing it on purpose he would be able to find a weak spot and counter but Hinata was doing it unconsciously. It annoyed him that he was made powerless by someone who is powerless; regardless of lineage. But, he had to admit that though she may at times be a spoiled girl, she was a whole lot of woman.

When Hinata had finished collecting her arrows, she turned and walked back towards the blond mage. She about to ask him a question about her chosen anchor point when her teacher pulled her down. When she tried to speak he covered her mouth and leaned close to her ear.

"Straight out" he whispered.

Hinata did her best to match his gaze and see what he saw. When she did she held her breath in shock. A powerful Whitetail buck stood 30 yards in front of her with its head low eating clovers that were at the bases of the large trees that surrounded it. She was amazed to see such an animal in person close enough to hear it breathing. It was truly a magical sight. Her magical moment with the beast was cut short when Naruto whispered again to her.

"Don't move."

The blond slowly reached for Hinata's quiver and pulled out an arrow and nocked it into his bow. He slowly raised the bow and drew it allowing him to pause at his anchor point right behind his ear giving himself a few moments to calculate his shot. Once he was certain that his arrow would fly true he opened his mouth to make a grunting sound. This caused the buck to quickly raise its head now on full alert and remaining perfectly still; trying to locate what had made such a sound. Naruto had been waiting for that moment and released his arrow sending it perfectly into the buck's left shoulder. The buck immediately jumped and stumbled before running into the tall brush. Hinata sat there mouth agape not believe what her savour had just done. She was very upset by his actions and was about to demand for an explanation when the blond placed a finger on her lips to silence her for a few moments longer. After a few seconds there was a loud crash in the distance.

"Tok den! (Got it!)" he shouted happily grabbing the quiver and dashed towards the location of the crash with Hinata right behind him. (Thank you Lord of Tuft for the correction)

xXx

It didn't take them long to find where the buck had fallen as the dying animal had left a clear blood trail. When they did find it, the buck was on the ground lying on its side near a fallen rotting tree. Naruto used the tip of his bow to poke the animal in the eye which made it grunt. The buck still had some life left in it. The blond placed the bow next to him so he could kneel next to the dying deer holding a seven inch knife as he mumbled something under his breath. And with that, he plunged his knife straight into the heart of the beast, ending its life. This was the last straw for his companion.

"Why did you do that?" she demanded angrily.

"We're going to need a lot of food to survive the trip across the Daryaa ze Ates" he explained calmly, cleaning his blade before sheathing it back to his boot. "There's no way I could let a beautiful buck get away."

Hinata was still angry and wanted to yell at him. "If it was so beautiful why did you kill it"" she wanted to say but was cut off before she could do so.

"Life here is not like your home. This is the real world where nothing is served to us on a silver platter. You can learn a lot if you watch and listen" he said standing up. "You said so yourself that you've been sheltered from the world and wanted to learn from it. This is but one of nature's many lessons. Take heed as it is a valuable one."

Hinata listen to his words and calmed down realizing he was right. She had acted like a spoiled child yet again.

"I'm sorry" she apologised bowing her head. She only looked up again when she felt two hands resting on her shoulders to see it was Naruto with a soft smile on his face.

"Don't say you're sorry. You have a fierce sense of right and wrong and you don't want to see suffering. You're companionate and you're a good person. You're just uncomfortable with this new life and what comes with it. So don't apologise."

Hinata's eyes widened in surprise at his words and could not help but blush at them. She smiled as well which in turn caused Naruto to blush slightly; though he didn't understand why despite the fact she looked adorable. There was then a few moments of awkward silence as neither of them knew what to say until Naruto managed to straighten the situation out.

"Right" he said taking his hands off the princess and turned back to his deer.

"Thank you" she said kindly. Naruto looked over his shoulder for a moment before smiling and picking up the buck by its legs so he could carry it on his shoulders like a handkerchief.

"I believe I said it was nothing. I'm just doing my job. Let's go love" he said walking back to camp. Hinata smiled and gave him a small nod before following, feeling for some reason pleased as punch.

xXx

When they arrive back at the camp, the others seemed already aware that their leader had scored a kill.

"Whahoo!" shouted Kiba jumping over a large bush and landing at Naruto and Hinata's feet. "I could smell that half a mile back while I was getting firewood! What a buck!"

"A fine buck indeed" added Choji as the blond set the animal down. "Big strong body, almost a Royal, he must be at least 5 years old. A big ol' buck."

"He must have had a good time during the rut" laughed Kiba causing his companions to do the same. Hinata on the other hand was confused.

"The rut?" she asked.

"The rut is the name of the mating season for animals like deer, goats, sheep, elk, moose, pronghorn etc" explained Naruto. "Bucks and bulls battle for the right to mate and heard large harems of does and cows. During this time they barely eat, drink or sleep as they spent all their time defending their harems and by the end of the rut, ending up thin and weak. This makes them prime targets for wolves and other predators; thus completing the circle of life. Savvy?"

After Hinata nodded he clapped his hands. "Alrighty then. Would you like to see how one field dresses a deer?" he asked with a smile on his face. Hinata froze not sure of what to do or how to answer. She had never seen something like this before and despite feeling a bit green around the gills was genuinely curious.

"What you're not scared of a little blood and guts are ya love?" teased the blond mage. "The future Queen couldn't be squeamish of something as trivial as this. How are you expected to rule?"

Hinata pouted at his words and decided not to speak but to act. She sat down to his right cross-legged and her arms folded waiting for him to begin. This made him laugh and once again admit to himself that she was very cute when she did that.

"Very good love! Now..." he said kneeling in front of the dead buck, "Allow me to show and explain the necessary tools." He pulled out a knife from his waist that was 11 inches long with a 7 inch blade and a hook above the tip of the blade. "This is a gut knife. An all purpose knife, giving you the ability to gut and clean just about every kind of animal from the fish to the bird to the deer and to the cattle. It cuts well and can withstand a great amount of stress. And if need be, though not recommended, can be used as an effective weapon. Now watch what I do closely your Majesty."

He grasped the buck genitals which caused his watching pupil to blush and began to cut at the skin around it and began to slowly pull it back making sure to cut it at the base. He placed the genitals into one of several bowls he conjured with magic. He then flipped the knife into a reverse old and began to demonstrate how the gut hook knife lived up to its name. He hooked the gut hook just under the flesh of the buck where he had begun cutting free the genitals and began to run the hook up the ribcage revealing the buck's organs. Unconsciously Hinata clutched onto Naruto's arm not expecting to come face to face with the animal's innards so quickly, but was also strangely surprised to find that there was no pungent smell.

"Almost all the organs here have their uses. The heart, the lungs, the stomach, the liver, the tongue and the brain can be eaten, and the intestines can be filled with minced meat to make sausages" he explained as he removed them one by one and placing them into their own bowls. "The only organs that can't be used is the colon and the bladder. They need to be removed before they infect the meat." He then removed said organs with Hinata holding her breath not wanting in inhale what she could only imagine be the most fowl of smells. "On top of eating, there are parts of the animal that can be used for medicinal purposes like the antlers and the genitals; and a few other uses."

This caused Hinata to raise her eyebrows in surprise. "W-What other uses are there for the genitals?" she dared to ask. Unfortunately for her, Naruto grinned.

"Well _I_ don't need such things for my style of 'working' but Shikamaru does."

"And what are those uses?" she asked again both curious and slightly afraid for the answer he was going to give her.

"Shikamaru dries out the semen for an old aphrodisiac recipe" grinned the blond "From what I can tell it's made up of corn pollen, cedar, sweet grass, sage and powdered deer semen. Normally he'd use Elk semen but Whitetail works too. As I said I don't need the help but he claims it's very important."

Hinata leaned back a little, not sure whether to blush or to turn green.

"Right then, shall we get on with the skinning?" he asked her. After receiving a somewhat of a weak nod from his princess, he fished out a coil of rope and a piece of cleaned wood bent at a 90 degree angle with the ends cut into hooks. "You should be proud. Most upper class women your age would have swooned long before this point. Now this is a deer gambrel" he explained "This goes between the tendon and muscle on the rear legs so that we can hang it up to skin it." Naruto then began to do so by inserting the hooks of gambrel between the tendon and muscle. After making sure it was placed correctly, he tied one end of the rope at the bend of the gambrel before tossing the other end over a strong tree branch to hoist the carcass off the ground for skinning. He tied the loose end around the tree trunk and once again pulled out his gut hook knife.

He began to explain to Hinata how to properly skin a deer. He showed her that when skinning an animal one needs to be careful by only cutting the skin and avoiding the meat itself. He cut up the legs from the point where he began gutting to the knee joint and around the bone. This gave him enough free skin for him to begin to pull the skin off the meat of the buck. Naruto explained that if the deer had already cooled down he would have to slowly cut the skin free as he pulled it off the carcass. But if the carcass was still warm like it was now then one could pull it off in one go. And sure enough Naruto grabbed the skin of the buck on either side and yanked in down to the midsection before yanking on it again till he reached the base of the buck's skull.

The blond reached for a tomahawk that was strapped to his waist and used it to decapitate the buck and free it from its skin. He then grabbed each of the legs in turn and cut them off at the knee joint. This caused both the blond and the young princess to wrinkle their noses.

"Freshly cut deer bones. Ya never forget that smell" said Naruto with a smile. Just as he began to lower the buck from the gambrel Shikamaru returned from his sentry duty. The mysterious scholar looked at the skinned buck from top to bottom before looking at his boss.

"You couldn't have killed the big one?" he asked. Hinata looked at him confused and rather appalled by his lack of appreciation. The rest of the group could tell that the animal was massive but he claimed it was small. She looked at Naruto wanting to know how he would react but instead all he did was hand his underling the bowl containing the buck's genitals and watch him leave without saying thank you.

"I never thought he was such a rude man" said Hinata. Naruto merely chuckled.

"Things aren't always what they appear my dear princess" he said placing the buck onto a makeshift table and began to butcher the meat. "Perhaps in time you'll understand who and what kind of person he is."

Hinata wasn't sure why, but she felt as if he was implying that that would never happen. That she and Shikamaru had some bad blood between them even though they barely spoke to each other since the day they met. She decided it was best not to worry about it for now and instead continue to focus on her saviour preparing the meat and organs along with Choji who was preparing a pot above the fire pit. He diced the organs and washing them before tossing them into the pot along with a few large tomatoes, potatoes and wild leeks. Naruto, using some help from his magic was filling the deer intestines with minced meat for sausages and was curing the rest for easy transport and to avoid spoiling. When he finished he turned around to ask Hinata what she thought of all the work that went into hunting but was surprised to see that she wasn't there. His eyes scanned the camp and noticed that his old bow and quiver were missing. He cleaned his knife, sheathed it and walked back to the training ground.

When he arrived, he saw Hinata practising vigorously. He watched her closely and saw the hot determination in her eyes. Why was she so determined? What was driving her to endure the pain, the sweat, the blood and confusion of a foreign world so unforgiving? His curiosity driving him, he asked her.

"Didn't I say that over doing it would hurt?" he asked walking to her causing her to turn and face him. "Why are you trying so hard?"

Hinata hesitated slightly as she looked down at the bow in her hands. "I...do not want to be a burden any longer. I feel that all I am is damsel in distress, incapable of protecting herself or doing anything. I want to help."

It was at that moment that Naruto realized what kind of girl Hinata truly was. She was scared and shy but was trying her best to be strong; not giving up like many others would. She was a kind and generous young woman filled with curiosity and was as much a teacher as she was a student. Never in his 19 years in this realm had he encountered someone like her. She bore no true traits of that of the upper-class nor any of her infamous father. She was in a class all by herself. He placed both of his hands on her shoulders causes Hinata to look up and see him staring right in her eyes.

"You aren't weak and you aren't a burden. You are you and you should be proud of that. You should be especially proud of your skill with the bow" he said strongly but warmly.

Hinata blushed once again at his words but looked away. "Thank you but I do not think my skills are as impressive as you claim."

"But they are your highness. You are progressing faster than any other novice I have ever encountered. You have natural talent and with enough experience you will become a first class archer; the greatest in the land you could become if you dream to be" he said with a smile causing Hinata to smile as well. "Hinata, the bow, the stick and the string, is one of the greatest inventions we have. It is a tool and a weapon, and at the same time a work of art and beauty. Even the Gods themselves marvel at it and make it one of their primal weapons. You remind me of Vali; the greatest archer of the Æsir. Well…your _skill _reminds me of him; not your hygiene. He never cleaned his teeth or looked after himself. Speaking of which."

Naruto raised his right hand and conjured a violet ribbon while his left hand turned Hinata for her to face the other way. Before she could ask what he was doing, he tied her hair into a high pony tail. "This will keep your hair out of your eyes and stop your hair from getting caught on the string while you're fletching."

Even though she was blushing even more from his actions, she managed to turn back around and face him. "Th-Thank you Naruto" she said stuttering slightly.

Despite Naruto's previous warning of not over doing it when it came to training, the young pair decided to get a bit more training done. But as they trained, they felt as if they had gotten to know each other a little better. The barriers that divided each other was thinning and revealing their true selves. Of course they would never see how far things had gone until much later in their travels but in the end they would know it was worth the long journey; its ups and its downs.

One of those downs happened when they returned to their base camp and Hinata learned that the organs from the buck was their dinner. Both surprising and amusing the group, the princess took a fork full or organs and stuck it into her mouth, chewed and swallowed.

"It's good" she said quietly causing the others to burst out in laughter.

She was shy, but she was a whole lot of woman.

* * *

Next Chapter: The Ocean of Fire.

As you know FF may be deleting me and my work. You can find me on Twitter, Facebook, Deviant Art, Youtube and Blog.


	11. Chapter 9: The Ocean of Fire

Author's Note:

So you have probably been wondering what's been talking me so long to upload this chapter. If you haven't been following me on twitter then I suggest checking out the word count. Clearly this is my longest chapter I have ever written and despite the hate from my friends about splitting this chapter in two, I persevered. My original counter argument about how long this chapter was that "The Council of Elrond" was longer. Council of Elrond was 15 thousand words, this chapter is nearly 19 thousand XD. Anyways, I do hope you enjoy this chapter and I hope to get more work on soon.

I would also like to dedicate this chapter to Wanbli Ohitika (Brave Eagle), last great War Chief of the Lakotas who died on October 22nd of this year. May your ashes travel through the Black Hills and return to the Great Spirit.

Chapter 9: The Ocean of Fire

"Will that be enough?" asked Hinata with a rather worried look on her face. The group of thieves were filling several barrels next to a fresh water stream with water for their long trek across the Ocean of Fire. According to Shikamaru their 9 wooded barrels would hold over 300 imperial gallons but due to the fact they had to cross 3000 miles of open desert, Hinata wasn't sure it would last the voyage. Naruto stepped in to reassure her.

"Don't worry about a thing love" he said with a charming smile. "As long as we don't bathe in it, it will surely last us the whole trip."

The young woman nodded as it did reassure her, but the thought of not bathing for an extended period of time was not so reassuring. She decided it would be best to take one long last soak before the trip and headed off on her own. This as expected caught Kiba's eye and was about to tail her when his boss stepped in with a not so amused look on his face.

"Don't even think about it" he said sternly. "I want you do to some more scavenging. And if you're even within 20 yards of her I'll know of it."

"Of course you would have put up a barrier wouldn't you mate?" said the tracker in annoyance. "Common Akamaru." The large dog obeyed his master's call and walked with him into the forest in the opposite direction of the bathing princess.

"Keep an eye on him Choji" said Naruto, to which the chef nodded and followed his friend. This then left only Sasuke, Shikamaru and their boss in the camp to themselves who had already completed their task of loading the water barrels into the wagon. With the princess not around, the scholar had no worries asking a most worrying question.

"Are you sure you want to cross the Daryaa ze Ates, despite all of its legendary dangers?" he asked seriously.

The blond nodded sharply with a grin on his face. "It is our best option given the circumstances".

This made Shikamaru glare at him almost lazily. "Why do I suspect you're hoping for a pack of sand bandits or some sort of monster to attack us on route?"

"Maybe, maybe" he replied chuckling. His underlings looked at him sweat dropping slightly as he seemed to be returning to his normal ways. He was playing a dangerous game and he most certainly knew it.

"May I ask what you are planning my lord?" asked Sasuke as politely as he always did. Unfortunately his lord was keeping his mouth shut, labeling it a secret before walking off into the forest to search for early summer fruit to snack on, leaving his friends praying to the gods that he knew what he was doing.

xXx

As the group traveled towards the Ocean of Fire, the sharp inquisitive eyes of the princess Hinata noticed the change of the landscape. The closer they moved to the desert the thinner the vegetation became, along with the grass beneath then becoming dryer and course. The powerful sun began to shine through the thinning canopy of leaves causing her to squint and shield her eyes. Along with the sun came the heat. It slowly built over the reaming two hours of travel before they reached the sandy edge of the mightiest of deserts; the Daryaa ze Ates. This made Hinata very thankful that she was not wearing a corset and dress as the heat would kill her in a matter of hours. This thought then caused her eyes to notice the pill of blankets that lay near her in the wagon.

Why did Naruto say that they would need them; and her in particular? They had not yet taken a step into the sands of this desert and it was already scorching. She could already feel sweat beginning to bead on her back and forehead. Had he gone mad? She looked at the rest of her benefactors and noticed that Choji, Kiba and Akamaru were in the same boat as herself. But oddly enough Naruto, Sasuke and Shikamaru seemed to be unaffected by the swarming heat, She also noticed the blonds' excited smile, as if he was terribly eager to traverse this plane of flame and sun. She had to ask.

"Are you excited Naruto?"

He turned to her with a surprised look on his face. "What makes you say that? No no no my dear, only a fool would look forward to crossing this desert."

Though he dismissed her question, she was not fooled. "You are grinning like a fox and fidgety like a child. Tell me why you are acting this way."

Her words made him laugh and grin, knowing that her eyes were as sharp as a hawk and saw what others could not. He secretly liked that about her though his pride would not yet admit it.

"It is nothing grandiose love. It is just that I am hoping for something special to happen on this voyage."

"And what would that be?" she asked with a cocked head.

"There are tales of monsters in this baron wasteland of sand. Beasts that seem only possible in the deepest depths of the nightmares of men. But there is one monster that stands out amongst them all. What I am hoping for is to find this monster of the desert."

She leaned back slightly at his words but did not believe them. She had heard stories like these before and was reassured that they were nothing more than fairy tales. But the way he spoke and the look in his eye told her that he spoke the truth. And that made her regret asking. Of course this made the blond thief mage laugh at the young princess once more.

A few hours later the company was several dozen miles miles into the desert with the sun almost under the horizon. Seeing the tipping sun, Naruto decided it was best to set up camp early and called to halt the horses. As they began to start a fire and divide the rations, Hinata noticed something she had not during the trip across the Ocean of Fire. She was cold. How was that possible? Cold in a desert? One did not hear such things even in the most puzzling of riddles but it was true. The princess indeed felt chilly and did her best to huddle and keep some of her warmth. Then she felt something warm fall onto her shoulders and back and looked to see that Naruto had placed a cloak on her.

"There is nothing in this desert for the warmth of the sun to cling to in the night" he explained, once again able to know her questions before she asked them. "Because of that, temperatures drop to below freezing. That is why we needed those blankets. Not for us only, but for our horses."

Hinata nodded understanding his logic and tightened the cloak to better shield her from the chill of the approaching night.

The meal that night was small due to the need of preserving their rations but it was warm and would aid them sleep. However the company did not search for sleep so early and decided to gaze at the stars now that they were not hidden by a think canopy of leaves. Hinata herself decided that it would be best to continue Naruto's studies and fished out some paper and ink. To her delight he retained every bit of her lessons and could now write full sentences with ease. His progress was truly astounding. She had never seen someone learn to write so quickly, especially learning from no past knowledge. But what pleased her most what that the more she taught the handsome thief, the more he seemed to love what she taught him. His eyes seemed to light up with wonder, thinking about what he would create with these words that were once so foreign to him.

It was at these times that she wondered what man he could have been if not a thief. His magical talents could grant him fame and admiration. His curiosity and passion could lead him to a life of a scholar, acquiring knowledge from around Midgard to teach future generations. When they would arrive at the gates of the Kingdom of Rǫðurr (pronounced Ruthurr meaning "The Sun"), perhaps he would become one of her father's scholars, even if his hate for the Crown of the South had not yet faded.

When she tried to ask him what his plans were when they reached home, he called out for them all to turn in for the night.

"To bed the lot of you!" he called rising to his feet. "We have a bright and early start tomorrow to resume our journey, if we wish to cross this ocean of flaming sand alive."

With those words, they drifted off to sleep.

xXx

"Morning love" said a deep singsong voice. Hinata let out a quiet tired groan as she did not want to awaken from her slumber. Unfortunately for her, her savior always completed the task he set out to do, along with his orders being absolute. He pulled off her blanket and tossed it into the wagon. "Up sleeping beauty up now!"

The cold air of the desert hit her instantly finally forcing her into a sitting position. She yawned as sleep was still trying to keep her down but managed to shake its grasp. She was used to waking early as that is but one of many duties of a future queen, but this morning felt odd. She opened her eyes…or did she? She blinked again and again once more but she could not see the bright sun.

"What…time is it?" she asked.

"Good questioned" said the blond scratching his chin as he smoked one of his cigarettes. "By the position of the moon and stars I'd say it be 2 or three in the morning."

"Why would we need to leave this early in the morning if we can even call it that?" she asked clearly a little grumpy.

"We leave so early my dear Hinata, for that we can avoid the scorching sun and cover as much ground before then. Savvy?"

Once again Hinata nodded at his logic and stood up to collect her bedding for the next leg of the journey.

They were fully packed in less than 15 minutes and were then moving onward across the desert. At first they worried that the weight of the wagon and the thinness of its wheels would cause it to be trapped in the sand before being swallowed by it. But Shikamaru and Naruto were innovative by trade and fastened double spoked wheels with large wood plating to keep them from sinking. Of course there was the next bit of worry for the horses who were not born and raised for such terrain but they were strong and would endure.

Both the thief and his scholar, along with their tracker studied the map given to them by Lee the Ram carefully, as it was their only guide across this terrible desert. One mistake in the wrong direction could send them to their doom. Hinata on the other hand had fallen asleep in the wagon, curled up next to a sac of oats with her head covered. This caught Naruto's eye and made him grin. She was rather cute like that, almost like a child waiting for something important to come the following morning but unable to stay awake to greet it. It strangely touched his heart in a way he had never felt before. He forced his eyes back to the map but secretly snuck in several peaks. Due to his preoccupied eyes, he did not see his scholar see him looking at the girl with longing eyes. It troubled him but he said nothing.

When the sun was high in the sky, the company had already set up camp in the shade of a high dune. The horses were freed from their saddles, harnesses and bridles to drink and rest as they had already grown weary from the heat. But they needed their rest for they would need it to travel when the sun set again. Dusk till dawn. This was what Naruto had been advised by Lee if he wanted to make it alive. The blond mage himself then advised his men and his princess to do nothing but rest and think until the night permitted them to carry on their quest.

Hinata during this time was having trouble adjusting to her knew environment. The heat of this degree was foreign to her along with the dryness, lack of shade and lack of wind. On top of her discomforts, she was begging for a bath. She thought she would last a few days perhaps a week but she was now at wits end. She could tell she stank and felt her sweat cover her from head to toe, along with sand stuck in her long hair. She desperately wished for a bath but knew she would not be granted one. She had to deal with it the best she could and more so if it was not enough. The method she found most beneficiary was to sleep.

This was done like clockwork everyday for almost a week's time. To Hinata it felt like far more. Time seemed to move slowly to the fair princess, as if time meant so little. And why should it matter here? There was nothing in this land to care for such things other than the tall dunes and the blazing sun. Should they care? Do they care? No they would not. And with that logic in mind, Hinata carried on.

It was not till the 9th day of their travels did things begin to change. Kiba stood a little ways ahead of the others to make sure they were following the correct path when something caught his eye.

"To the West!" he shouted riding back to his lord.

"Keep moving!" ordered Naruto causing Kiba to stop his horse. "We still have so much more ground to cover. Whatever that is happening to the West is hundreds of miles from us."

It was not like him to ignore such things (whatever they may be), but the heat was partly to blame for his impatience.

By noon the horses were beyond exhausted.

"They cannot go any further" urged Choji. "They must rest!"

"Find some shade and give them water" Naruto told him from his horse several yards in front of the wagon. "How much longer do they have? How many more miles do you have left in you Aldrnari?" he whispered to his horse. Before his stallion could muster some form of response, things turned from bad to worse.

"There is something gaining on us from the West my lord!" shouted Sasuke pointing to his right. The company turned their heads to where he was pointing and once again they faced the "thing" that Kiba had spotted at dawn. However this time it had grown in size covering half the horizon. Due to this they could now make out what it was; a massive wave of sand.

"Sandstorm!" shouted Kiba riding to the wagon as Shikamaru drew out his spyglass and brought it to his eye.

"Wichashayadapi (Chief)" he said passing the glass to his friend who gazed through it. "That is no sandstorm."

His words made the young warrior grin for the first time in days as he snapped the spyglass shut. "Brace yourselves!" he shouted jumping off the wagon. Sasuke and Kiba brought their horses alongside the wagon and tethered them before throwing one of many blankets they brought with them over each of their heads. Naruto did the same with the wagon team as Choji sealed the rear flaps of the wagon. "Keep your head down princess!" he said as the whole company climbed into the safety of the canvas tarp.

As they waited for the storm to hit, they could hear the wind growing stronger and stronger, causing the canvas to flap faster and faster to the point it looked it would tear. The sky began to darken as the storm eclipsed the sun making it seem as if it was night. Hinata was rather shaken by the storm and hoped it would end soon as the wagon seemed as if it would tip over. But to her confusion and alarm, Shikamaru grabbed his black staff and leapt out of the wagon. He spun it over his head before plunging it into the sand and spread his arms wide as if he was going to embrace the storm.

"Apá Hupahu Kabu! (Crow Wing Beat)" he shouted swinging his arms together unleashing a powerful gust of wind against the sandstorm before him. The gust managed to clear away the sand entirely revealing a dozen individuals wearing brown robes and turbans to shield them from the sand and sun, along with a pair of boat like crafts with toboggan blades. "Sand Bandits!" shouted the scholar drawing once again his staff.

"To battle!" shouted Naruto jumping out of the wagon along with his able fighting men. The bandits tried to use their numbers to their advantage but they were easily out matched. Shikamaru managed to knock out two of them with one swing of his staff and a third with a sharp kick. Kiba clotheslined two bandits with Choji right behind him taking out another two by grabbing their heads and slamming them together. And finally Naruto and Sasuke took out the remaining six with lighting speed thanks to their swords but only used the backs to leave them alive.

Believing that the fight is over, they made their way to the ships but were surprised with several more bandits. However, these warriors were dressed in finer clothing giving the impression of some form of royal guard. One of these warriors chose Shikamaru as his opponent and sent a fury of kicks at him, but each of them were parried easily by the scholar. The guard followed up his attack by grabbing a fan as large as he was on his back and swung it open. The fan unleashed a powerful gust of wind that was sharp enough that it cut the sand as it flew at the scholar. Shikamaru seemed annoyed by the attack as he jumped over it. Using gravity to his advantage, he swung down his staff with both hands cutting the fan in two. However, the attack was so sharp, that it managed to slice the mask that the guard wore revealing the face of a beautiful young woman with blond hair tied into four pony tails.

This caught the scholar completely off guard. His eyes went wide and he was frozen in place. "A…woman?" he said astounded. Why was this guard a woman? Shikamaru was bewildered by the thought of a woman in battle and even more so by the reality that one was his opponent. Unfortunately he wasn't given much time to be flabbergasted as the female warrior now without a weapon launched herself at him tackling him to the ground. She used her left hand to pin down his right arm while she drew a Janbiya dagger with her right and tried to slit his throat. Shikamaru managed to catch her wrist before her blade pierced him and was surprised to find how strong she actually was. Though still confused by his opponent's genre, he decided to take the fight seriously and wrestled the knife out of her grasp followed by a swift strike to her midsection knocking her unconscious.

A little further away Naruto stuck down the last of the guards with a satisfying sigh. "Is there no one better?" he asked almost mockingly. As if the gods heard his request, the door of one of the sand boats opened. The blond turned to see a young man about six feet tall emerge from the darkness of the central cabin wielding a four tipped Halberd that he used like a walking stick which was taller than he was. He had shoulder length auburn hair that partial covered a red tattoo of the Chinese character for love above his left eye. He wore a long brown robe trimmed with gold displaying his status which was not a leap of the imagination to guess he was royalty. He walked to the edge of the bow and looked at his fallen men. He was not pleased.

"Time to end this" he said coldly jumping off the bow and landed 10 feet in front of the blond mage. He spun round with surprising speed and thrust his Halberd right at his opponent. To his surprise Naruto blocked the attack with a nodachi blade and was even more impressed when he was pushed back.

"You are the Demon of the Desert aren't you?" he asked with an eager grin on his face.

"Evet (yes)" replied the tattooed man. "I am Çöl Gaara (Gaara of the Desert). Who are you and why are you marching on my lands?"

The blond took a bow. "Naruto Løvenson is my name. And my reason for traveling in your kingdom is…" he said drawing his second blade. "Well…that I'll save as a treat for later."

Leaving it at that he charged at the prince with his swords held out wide. He leapt into the air and swung both blades together aiming right at Gaara's head. The auburn-haired man quickly raised his Halberd sideways blocking the attack which caused a blast of air and sparks due to the power of both the blow and the defense. Gaara then slammed his right foot into the sand giving him the support to force Naruto back. Not even letting the blond retake his stance, he swung his spear in a massive arch that narrowly missed its target. Naruto grinned at his opponent's ferocity but quickly learned its degree when a second swing followed the first forcing him to do a large back flip to both avoid the attack and put some distance between himself and the Halberd.

He knew he had to be as quick and merciless and hit the ground running quite literally as he saw that Gaara was left open from the attack. To his surprise Gaara used the momentum of the second swing to twist his body into the air and grab the spear with both hands to unleash a powerful downward hack. Naruto managed to avoid it by mere centimeters letting the Halberd hit the sand knocking a plum of dust. This gave him enough time and cover to make another move on the young prince and began to run up the long spear.

To his surprise Gaara let go of his weapon and did a full 360 pivot on his right foot sending a powerful left spinning round house into the mage's ribs. The attack sent him back several yards but he managed to land on his feet.

"I must say I am very pleased and impressed by your skill my dear prince" he said smiling resting the back of his right sword on his shoulder. "Can I have some more?"

Gaara said nothing as he picked up his weapon and swung it down again at the blond who used both his blades this time in a cross style to block it. This was not the wisest of decisions. When the Halberd connected, Naruto realized both how strong the Prince was and, for good reason, Gaara's weapon of choice was outrageously heavy. Knowing he had to free himself before tasting his opponent's steel, he lifted his left foot and began to chant a wind spell.

"Vindhammer!" he shouted stamping the ground knocking up a plume of sand of his own to blind Gaara. To avoid being hit by an attack, the red haired young man jumped back out of the plume. Suddenly from the cloud came something aimed right at him which he managed to knock away. Unfortunately he was not in the clear as it was all a distraction by the blond who emerged from the dust like a creature from the mist of the bog and cut Gaara cheek. The force of swing caused the plume to clear allowing all conscious observers to witness what had happened. What had flown out at the prince was in fact one of Naruto's swords and now with one of his hands free he aimed a palm full of fire at his opponent.

"You are a hypocrite" said Gaara rather calmly.

"Correction. As I said the last time we met…" replied with blond with a grin, "A swordsman must always hold his sword even in death. A warrior is always a weapon."

His words left them both silent for a few moments before they both burst into laughter leaving Hinata and the prince's men confused.

"It has been far too long arkadaşım (my friend)" Gaara holding out his hand.

"Yes it has min venn (my friend)" shaking his hand. "And I'm glad with your memory of travelers you remember our last conversation." The blond then fished out the letter he had received from Lee which bore his seal and handed it to his old friend. Gaara opened the letter and as his eyes glided across the _Hàny__ǔ__ P__ī__ny__ī__n (Chinese) characters he began to grin. _

"I plan to remember all of our conversations arkadaşım. Bring your men aboard my vessel as my men load your cart and animals. We have much to discuss on our way to my city. Çalışmak için! Kendinizi toplayın! Çalışmak için! (To work! Pick yourselves up! To work!)"

Gaara's men, now all conscious followed his orders and followed his ship towards their city which from what Lee's map suggested, was a long ways away.

xXx

It had taken them nearly three hours to reach the prince's city. But of course this was much shorter than the length of time it would have taken them which was easily another day or so. Gaara himself found it rather daring for them to cross his lands without a çöl yük vagonu (Desert Wagon; what they were riding) or some sort of magic flying craft. Hinata herself wanted to ask if either Naruto or Shikamaru who both seemed to know Wind based spells, could have made it that they could have flown over the desert. However her question would have to wait as the city of Meşek was before her. And it was eye widening.

Around the whole city was a massive stone wall over 300 feet tall with men stationed all across the top of it. It was amazing enough as it was but the true beauty of the city was inside her gates. And it took the princess' breath away. As far as the eye could see were upward sloping stone homes and streets that snaked all across the city like a maze. The setting sun bouncing off the roofs and beautiful carpets that hung out to dry or shade a door making Meşek look like a jewel; a diamond in the rough one could say. But what stood out the most was the large palace at the centre of the city atop a large rock. Naruto out of the corner of his eye could see the girl's amazement and decided to give her a history lesson."

"This love, is the city of Meşek" he explained. "It was built over 1000 years ago and is one of the oldest cultures, cities and empires, and one of the few surviving relics of the ancient world. Is that not right your highness?"

"Yes refigh (friend). Meşek was built by my ancestors after concurring the Daryaa ze Ates. Before the great wars my family ruled a nation called Persia but has sadly been reduced to the capital city. I am youngest son of the Çöl royal family."

"And when will you be inheriting the thrown then? You must already have a woman and you're still young; in perfect shape to lead your people."

The blonds' words made the prince produce a rather serious face. "I already have. My father met his end a few days ago."

This caught Naruto by surprise. He had been wanted to speak with the king again after his last meeting with him but decided not to ask any questions. There was something in the young king's eyes that seemed to tell that is was not a heroic or peaceful end.

"My men will take care of your cart and animals" he continued as they walked towards the palace. "I suspect that after all this time in the desert you have had not the time to bathe or rest. My baths are open to you and your companions as well as food and lodging."

This made Hinata's ears perk up with delight. Nothing in the world sounded sweeter that a long relaxing bath, especially after all she had been through. Gladly for her she would not have to wait much longer as they were already at the great doors of the palace.

"I shall escort you personally. For your lady companion I shall have someone special tend to her" explained the king. He then turned to the doors of his home and began to whistle like a song bird. Suddenly from high above came an object that was traveling too fast for Hinata's eyes to see until in landed before her. It was a young woman crouching with one hand on the ground to balance herself. When she stood up they could see she was about their age with medium length brown hair, dark eyes and lightly tanned skin. She wore brown silk vest embroidered with the royal colors and symbols over a shirt of light chainmail. They moth ended at her shoulders which were protected by shoulder plates with black forearm length fingerless groves and a slim gauntlet on her left arm. On her right arm appeared to be a very long coil of thin rope that wrapped all the way from her wrist to the top of her shoulder with a diamond shaped blade hanging at the top.

"This is my student Aysun Matsuri Aygül" he said.

"Nasıl benim kral hizmet edebilir? (How may I serve you my king?) she said with her hand on her heart and a respectable bow.

"Hamam için bu genç kadın eşlik ve herhangi bir şekilde ona yardım (Escort this young woman to the baths and aid her in any way)" Gaara replied. Aysun bowed again and held out a hand for Hinata to follow her. Gaara himself did the same for Naruto and his men as he had rather private matters to discuss with them.

xXx

"Ahhhh!" sighed Hinata with pleasure as she slipped into her warm bath. Oh this felt marvelous! Over a week without bathing had been harder than she had thought. She felt dirty, that went without saying but as soon as she touched the water, her tense muscles melted releasing a wave of pleasure.

"You seem very tense leydim (my lady)" said Aysun preparing soap and a rag to wash the back of the young woman. "You act as if you have not had a hot bath in a long time."

Hinata blinked at her aid's perception. When she thought about it, it had been a rather long time since she enjoyed a bath that wasn't in a cold lake. It made her realize that she had been gone from home for a long time.

"Your Anglisc is amazing" said Hinata with honest admiration. "Do all of your people speak it?"

"Not all but a great deal of us do. Our primary language is Türki but we also speak Farsça or Farsi; the tongue of our ancestors" explained Aysun. "Though we have no use for Anglisc in the sense of trade or conversation, we do possess a large amount of books written in Anglisc as we collect knowledge from around the globe. How else are we to read them if we do not know the language?"

"That is amazing! Your culture is truly impressive" complimented the princess as she climbed out of the bath and sat onto a small stool in front of Aysun. "But I have been wondering about something. Your middle name is Matsuri. That is Nihongo isn't it?"

"Evet (yes). It was the name of my great aunt that married into our family in Meşek. She was from the South-East."

"So am I. My name is Hinata. May I call you Matsui-chan?" she asked holing out her hand.

"Hai Hinata-sama" replied Matsuri with a smile shaking her new friend's hand. "I have always wanted to use my middle name but no one other than my family and the royal family who also have Nihongo names can pronounce it."

The girls giggled as the tension that had been between them on the way to the bath had melted away. Matsuri picked up one of the soft soapy rags and began to wash Hinata's back.

"_Ş__a__ş__ırtıcı_ (amazing)!" exclaimed the Meşekian girl. "Your skin is so soft!"

"Do you think so?" asked Hinata rubbing her thigh gently. "After all this time roughing it I feared it would have become as rough as leather." That gave her an idea. It was rather bold of her but she reached over and touched Matsuri's leg. "Your skin is quite soft too! How do take care of it so well in this arid place?"

This made her blush. "Well I suppose the same you do. Life here is a struggle but not as difficult as you would believe. The ancestors chose this place because there is enough water and fertile soil to survive. If we could not survive then we would not be here today."

"Astonishing" Hinata said washing her extended right leg with a cloth of her own. "Matsuri-chan, may I ask you something about your teacher?"

"The Kral (King)? What about him?"

"How did he become king?"

Matsuri hesitated to answer the question. "Master Gaara was made Kral after his father Kral Adem passed away. This is how all monarchies function even though Master Gaara was an exception."

"An exception?"

"Evet. Master Gaara is the youngest child of the House of Çöl. The eldest is Prenses Nesrin Temari followed by her younger brother Prens İlker Kankuro." The young woman paused for a moment to lather her hands with soap before rubbing them into Hinata's long hair. "But since Master Gaara looks so much like his late father he was named as his successor."

"But how did the late king pass? Was it by illness or battle?" asked Hinata cleaning her arms. Once again the question made the tanned girl pause without speaking, as if there was something bad that came up with the asking of the question.

"I apologize, but I cannot say."

It was clear to Hinata that Matsuri would not tell her Kral Adem's end and decided not ask her again. This unfortunately left them in an awkward silence minus the sound of her hair being scrubbed and water pouring from the nozzles of fountains around the bath. It was only after Matsuri rinsed out the soap with a bucket of cool water did the silence break.

"Alright then. Your turn" she said with a smile.

"Afedersiniz (pardon me)?" asked the brunette.

"You washed my back now I shall wash yours."

"I cannot have you do that Hinata-sama!"

"Oh hush!" dismissed the princess sitting her friend down and began to scrub her back clean. This left Matsuri to sit quietly with cheeks burning in embarrassment and to begin washing herself. "So how did you become the student of King Gaara?"

Matsuri blushed slightly more at the question but answered it almost fondly. "Our families have been old friends and allies for centuries. We met when we were children at a feast. He had lost his teddy bear and I helped him find it. Since then we've become friends. When I was old enough I offered my service to the crown and became his personal guard but then became his student when he took up the Halberd and magic. He has become an incredible man and undoubtedly a great king."

Hinata remained quiet as she rubbed soap into her new friend's hair. "Matsuri-chan…are you in love with him?"

As expected her words made the brunette's eyes go wide and a deep blush spread across her face like wildfire.

"W-What?" she stammered.

"You are in love with King Gaara" repeated Hinata dropping the cold water from a bucket with warning or courtesy.

"I-I am not Hinata-sama!" Matsuri objected but her cheeks were still red even after being soaked in cold water.

"Oh you are so cute!" squealed the Southern princess hugging the girl warmly. Matsuri knew that the cat was now out of the bag and remained silent as Hinata teased her even when they slipped back into the large hot bath. "Why are you so secretative about this? It's a wonderful thing to be in love, especially with an old friend. He probably feels the same."

Matsuri looked away. "It is not as easy as you think. Even though I am from a noble family, Gaara is from the monarch. Courting would be prohibited and even more so for myself as I am his servant."

"But he is the king! His word is law and who would deny him a lover?" asked Hinata logically.

"That is true but…even then I'm…not that beautiful" she said her eyes shifting. Hinata wasn't sure about that last bit. She was most certainly a beautiful young woman but her eyes gave something away. They seemed to have rested on something before quickly looking away. With her own eyes she managed to track it right to her own large breasts.

"What these?" she asked cupping them slightly with her cheeks a bit pink. "They're more trouble then they're worth."

"But they are so large and yet shapely and firm. All women would desire such bosoms. And over all leydim, you have an amazing figure. I have never seen anyone so fair."

The young princess blushed at her new friend's words as she had never heard such praise before…other than from Naruto. The thought of him and his words made her blush deepen but she did her best to push it out of her mind.

"Thank you Matsuri-chan, but you are very beautiful yourself. If I may say, your breasts are nothing to laugh at (48F or DDD). They are shapely along with perfect small nipples. I would be surprised if the king disliked them."

Matsuri blushed at Hinata's words but was grateful. "Teşekkür ederim (thank you)" she said smiling sweetly. "I must say Hinata-sama, you seem to be quiet fluent in sex appeal. Pardon me for my rudeness but you look like a virgin like myself…"

"I-I am a virgin!" she shot back quickly a little offended and embarrassed. "I just know the basics." This was partly true. Yes she was a virgin and yes she knew what breasts appealed to men but that was only because of Naruto's teasing and occasionally Kiba's flirting.

"I-I apologize Hinata-sama. I just thought that you and the handsome blond friend of my master had progressed to that level in your relationship."

This made things worse.

Hinata's entire face was red from embarrassment. "M-M-M-Me and N-N-Naruto? D-Don't be ridiculous! W-We're just friends-no, associates! Nothing more! Nothing more!" The more Hinata denied any romantic feelings between the blond mage and herself the more she stumbled over her words, speaking quickly despite that stumbling and making her claims less and less believable.

"I'm sorry. When I saw you with him you seemed to complimentary balance each other. I thought I saw a connection between the two of you that only true lovers have" explained Matsuri unable to make eye contact with the other young woman. Hinata too was unable to look at her new friend as the embarrassment of the whole misunderstanding was too much. This then lead to another few moments of awkward silence until a small grin began to spread across the young princess' face. She quickly struck the water sending a splash into the face of Matsuri.

"True lovers? Like you and the king?" she asked with her arms folded under her large bust. The tanned-skinned woman stared at Hinata with a stunned look before returning the favor with a splash of her own. The girls began to giggle and laugh as they played in the bath, the questions of romance quickly forgotten in the steam and suds of soap.

xXx

After the girls and the boys had their bathes, they gathered in the grand dining hall. The room was brightly light and decorated with tapestries and statues of heroes of old. In the centre was a long table with 20 seats on each side and one at either end. At the head of the table was a large chair (clearly for the king) with the two smaller chairs next to it but just as distinguished. They each took their seats with the king, his brother and Matsuri at the head leaving the seat closest to his right for his sister. Naruto sat at the left of Gaara with Shikamaru to his left followed by Hinata, Sasuke, Choji and Kiba. Though Hinata wanted to wear her new dress, Matsuri had given her one of her own which was a little tight at the chest but otherwise comfortable. Though Temari had not yet arrived they began to properly introduce themselves.

"I am Choji Øksson" began the chef.

"Kiba Ulvfangson, descendant of Fernir."

"Sasuke Ravnfjær."

"Shikamaru Áalihte."

"Prens İlker Kankuro."

This then left Hinata as the last to be introduced. However Hinata was not certain if it was such a good idea. She knew very well that her name was a curse far more than a blessing in this part of the world making her look at the blond for guidance. To her surprise he nodded telling her to be honest. Taking a breath to steady herself and sitting straight she spoke.

"My name is Princess Hinata of Rǫðurr, daughter of Bjartr son of Ósvaldr." she said.

This made the eyes of the Meşekians become wide. Matsuri began to sweat slightly as she did not know how to feel. Embarrassed for treating and be treated like a friend by a member of a royal house, or betrayed for being deceived. On closer speculation, she did not seem to act like her father thus calming her nerves. Her king, master and crush acted a bit differently.

"Aklını mı kaçırdın? (Are you out of your mind?)" demanded Gaara almost standing in confusion. This surpsiedthe others who had not seen him so animated but understood his concern. "Why would you of a people have the daugher of that man in your company? İs she your prisoner? İf so are his armies riding to find her?"

"Calm yourself kralım (my king)" repleid the mage with a smile. "It is not what it seems."

"Then explain. İf there is any chance that this will put my people at risk then in the name of the gods tell me for I have both the right and duty to know as kardeş Lee did not mention this in his letter."

"The princess has been cut off from her kin on her way to meet with her uncle. I am merely acting as her escort. We are heading south to her home and shall be compensated for our service. A man has to eat doesn't he?"

Gaara studied his friend cautiously. He could tell there was some hidden message in his explanation but he couldn't decipher its meaning. He decided it was best to trust him and wait for a better time to hear what would only be said in time.

"Very well then arkadaşım," said the king. "As long as you know what you are doing I shall not question any further. No matter how foolish it seems."

Naruto bowed his head in thanks as the doors of the dinning hall opened revealing Temari wearing a magnificent dress with her hair let down with two smaller braids running down each side of her face. "Geç kaldığım affet (Please forgive my lateness)" she said walking briskly to her seat. "I had misplaced my hair brush."

"Do not apauligise my dear" said Naruto standing and taking her hand. "Like a wizard, a beautiful woman is never late. They arrive always at the right moment and are always welcome." He ended his praise with a kiss on her hand which for some reason bothered Hinata before both took their seats once again. However this had taken an interesting turn; granted only for Naruto but that will be apparent later, as Temari was sitting directly across from Shiakamru. The scholar did not make eye contact with the young woman but he did oberseve her. He couldn't put his finger on why she made him uneasy or why he felt the need to observe her but he knew it was troublesome and an omen of bad things.

"This is my elder sister Temari" introduced the king. "She has been my guide ever since I was a child and as wise as a grandmother."

Temari bowed to her guests with her eyes closed to which they all returned. But when she slowly raised her head along with opening her eyes, she made eye contact with the dark haired scholar. This caused Shikamaru to immediately look away. He was starting to feel very uncomfortable and it was bothering him in more ways than one. His heart was beating at a quicker pace and felt a small bead of sweat beginning to form at the back of his neck but he did his best to ignore it. Whatever was the cause of his unsettled mind whether it be due to this woman or the desert sun it would pass in time.

"Now that all are present, I feel that we can begin to go over the contents of akıl hocası Lee's (mentor) letter" said Gaara. "Though you and he ask a great favor of me as it and its motives are cloaked with mystery and danger leaving me with a feeling of fret, I shall aid you. I will have my fastest boats escort you to the other end of the desert and provide you with any previsions you need, whether it be food, water, animals, weapons, medicine or knowledge."

"You have my thanks kralım" said Naruto with a smile. "I'll be sure to repay this favor in time."

"As will I" added Hinata. "I understand that you as do many hate my house. I do not know why you bare such hate but I do know it is a great boon for you to do all this. For that I am eternally grateful." She bowed her head showing her respect which surprised everyone but far more the king of Mesek and his family. He looked at her wondering how she could share the blood of such a man as the king of Sun let alone be his heiress but he supposed that if he acted in a different mindset than his late father, then it was surely possible that this young woman would do better.

"Raise your head prenses" he said. "Those who show humility when blessed with a great house and duty are those who stand tall. Though I do this favor more for the reason that I know and respect your benefactors, I can see that I am not doing it in vain."

The young man's words surprised the others but it was clear that those were undoubtedly words of a king. Hinata raised her head with a warm smile. "Thank you. If I may, I was speaking to your student before about your city and she explained to me she has learned a great deal on weaponry and combat from you. What style of combat is that of your people?"

The question was not one he was expecting and it caused him to raise one eyebrow but he saw no reason not to answer. It also killed time before their meals were served.

"Very well. My people are great warriors. We have become strong horsemen and pike users. My Halberd is a variation of the pike that was fashioned by Lee's mentor due to its unusual shape and my distinct fighting style. We train our warriors in both the sword and the pen. Each of our warriors are as much scholars as they are warriors. They are fluent in history, language and politics as well as agriculture and crafts. We believe that a sharp mind filled with knowledge must go hand in hand with a body as strong as steel. We also train women who volunteer in dagger combat."

"Yes and it appears to be very effective" scoffed Shikamaru interrupting the king.

"Are you making light of us?" demanded Temari who was clearly offended by the scholar's words.

"The fact that I defeated you and that this nation allows women to take part in the ways of war, I make light of it all" he said unimpressed.

"Eğer fark! (You cur!)" she shouted raising to her feet.

"Oturmak (Sit down)" said Gaara strongly. "Birkaç kelime yüze kaybetme Çöl evin Meşek bir çocuk nasıl davranacağını değil (Losing face to a few words is not how a child of Meşek of the house of Desert behaves). And you…" he added looking at Shikamaru. "It would be most wise if you do not speak in such a manner in my presence again."

The scholar merely looked at the king still displaying he was unmoved by the threats of the Meşek warriors. This caused the others to fill with anxiety and worry that a fight would erupt between the two. Luckily for the group the tension was removed as Naruto laughed at the whole situation.

"Ser ut som en kjærlighets krangel (Looks like a lover's spat)" chuckled the blond.

Right after he said those words the side doors of the dining hall that connected to the kitchen emerged a dozen young women carrying many dishes and wines for the king and his guests. They brought out a great verity of dishes from rice, to fish in oil, vegetables, fruits, meats, breads, soups and many more that Hinata had never seen before. In front of her was a plate containing a square piece of cake alongside three trips of meats place on sticks. She took her knife and fork sliced herself a piece of her cake and gentle placed it in her mouth unsure of its taste. Her face then lit up.

"Delicious!" she exclaimed with slightly pink cheeks. "What is this dish called?"

"This is Tah-chin," explained Matsuri. "It is a saffron rice cake filled with marinated chicken."

"It's so vibrant in flavour. I can't even describe it."

"That's no surprise" said Choji eating a large piece of lamb. "Despite the baron wasteland of the desert there are underground lakes of fresh water that cause the earth to be fertile enough to grow crops and spices."

"Very good" complimented Gaara. "Right below this very city is a massive fresh water lake which is where we get our water supply. However it was not an easy task to reach it as it is over a mile beneath the sands. We are not a mining people so we needed to gather knowledge and learn for ourselves. The east is famous for its mining and blacksmithing thus we learned from their masters and wrote it down to add to our grand library."

This caused Shikamaru's ears to perk up. A grand library? Filled with knowledge collected from lands that even he had not seen over the course of hundreds of years? He could only dream of such as place.

"Arkadaşım, if I remember correctly you have an unmatched unquenchable thirst for knowledge and you were not allowed into the library last time you were here. Would you like to this time around?"

"Oh I'm very glad you remembered" replied Naruto with a smile. "But as luck would have it I did find someone whose drive for kn0owledge surpasses even mine. My scholar shall go in my place."

Then blond then gave Shikamaru a nod who then vanished from the dining hall in a swirl of black crow feathers. Though this did surprise those present that the young man was a mage, it affected the princess of Meşek the most. Upon witnessing his exit she clenched her jaw and tightened her hands into fists. Any previous thoughts of being able to defeat him in hand to hand combat were quickly washed away as it was clear there was a large gap in power between them. Not only skilled in armed combat but he was also a skilled mage. She had no choice but accept the fact that she had lost.

From the other side of the table, Naruto was thinking along a different set of lines.

'Jeg lurer på om ikke vakre Frøya har en finger i dette? (I wonder if not fair Freya has something to do with this?' he thought taking a sip of wine.

xXx

The sun had completely hidden itself behind the dunes leaving only the torches of the city and the stars and moon in the blackened skies. The city of Meşek from afar looked like a gleaming jewel that stood out upon millions of pearls. A truly beautiful sight to any who saw it but for Shikamaru, he could not care less. After an hour of searching he had yet to find this grand library and regretted not asking for directions before leaving. It showed his immaturity and impatience. Not sure of what to do next he laid down on his back and look up straight at the night sky letting his eyes drift across the constellations, unconsciously remembering all their names and tales.

To add insult to injury the young man heard his stomach give a whine of hunger. His second mistake that evening was leaving the table without actually finishing his meal. He was used to not eating for long periods of time during his training days but wielding magic was a physically demanding field and one needed to replenish their magic reserves. He did his best to ignore it and focus on his stargazing.

But once again it seemed that the gods were not on his side when some large object obscured his view. On closer inspection it was the head of a large tiger looked down at him no more than a few inches between its nose and his own. There was an odd few moments of silence before the tiger licked Shikamaru from his forehead to his nose like a dog welcoming its master.

"You do not fear Nurai?" asked Temari who emerged from the shows clearly disappointed by his lack of emotion to having a large tigress above him.

"Should I fear her?" he asked raising his eyebrows to the large cat who was still licking him in a playful manor. This only annoyed Temari more as she had hoped her friend would scare him to bits and get her revenge for his insults and her defeat. But for some reason Nurai did not see him as a threat and the first time she ignored her orders. "More importantly why are you here woman?"

'Woman?' she echoed in her mind. Who was he to call her "woman"? She was a princess and this carless man addressed her like a peasant with no title? She ought to strike him down or order his execution! But unfortunately she could not. "I have been asked by my brother to escort you to the grand library." And with that she began to walk away. "Ortak Nurai (Common Nurai)."

Though a little reluctant the tigress followed her master disappearing back into the shadows. For a few moments Shikamaru stared into the darkness with a deep frown unsure if he should follow them. But realizing he had no other option in allowing him to find the library he gave in, picking himself up and walking after them; muttering under his breath the whole way there.

The library was truly massive; in fact as large as the palace itself. But if it was so large why did Shikamaru have so much trouble finding it? The answer was surprisingly obvious. The whole thing was underground below the great rock within the city walls. It was well lit with hundreds of torches placed both above and beside the walls and book cases to make it easy for readers to find any volume they fancied. In the very centre of the library was an open area with tables and chairs for comfortable reading and study, along with a short pedestal with a glowing orb of blue light. It only took a glance for the young scholar to figure out it was an orb of magic that allowed a reader to locate a particular book without spending a great deal of time searching for it. Personally he found it was lazy (quite rich coming from him) and preferred taking the long route as one would always find something he or she wasn't looking for, but was a must to have.

He eagerly went to work letting his eyes and fingers spread across the spines of hundreds of volumes and scrolls dating back from a few to over a thousand years. He could tell that they were truly from all over the world. The older texts were undoubtedly copies made by ancient Persian scribes but otherwise were books easily distinguishable from the type of leather used to bind them along with what color of leather and smell of the paper used. The books themselves, let alone their contents, contained history of their own making the whole library smell like an ocean of knowledge. This was truly one of the most magical places he had ever been too.

Temari on the other hand was bored out of her mind. The library was one of her most hated places in her city even though it was their pride. Nothing bored her more than sitting in a room filled with books reading. To her, those who lived their noses between the pages never did anything with their lives that mattered and ignored what was happening around them. Her way of thinking was influenced by her inability to sit still for long periods of time. In fact she would get rather fidgety if she sat for a long time and would tap her foot to calm herself (which she doing at that very moment). She also tapped her foot when she was annoyed. And the fact that she was stuck in the library to supervise a lazy, rude, sexist anti-social man made her very VERY annoyed.

Just who did her think he was anyways? She examined from head to toe but all she saw was that he was an enigma. He appeared to be the kind of person that only looked out for themselves but at the same time displayed great loyalty to his leader. How could someone be so antipodal? Then something caught her eye. Within the young man's hair was something small and of a silver color. After closer inspection she could see it was a silver eagle ornament with a 5 cm wingspan and 4.5 cm long from the top of its head to its tail feathers. But it was not an eagle she had ever seen before. The ornament was greatly detailed and she could even see there were two other faces engraved, one in the chest of the eagle and one right above the tail feathers. She could see that it was the ornament that was holding his hair in its ponytail along with a 34 inch long braided strands of black leather that she at first mistaken for his hair. She could now see that that at both ends of the leather they were capped with 2 and a half centimetre long silver tips. A rather beautiful piece of jewelry.

Where was he from? The eagle tie was undoubtedly some sort of religious symbol; his skin was as dark as hers but his accent was nothing like she had heard before. His hair was blacker than the night sky that greatly complimented his skin making him, to her greater annoyance, a rather handsome man. But what took her aback was when he turned his head to the right to read one of the texts. She saw his eyes. His eyes were an otherworldly golden color the lit up in the torch light. What kind of person had eyes like that? A wolf? An owl? A cat? A fox? But surely not a human.

What made her more intrigued by those eyes was how captivating they were as they bounced across the letters of the text. She had never seen anyone read in such a manner. It was rather alluring.

That was when she caught herself. What was she thinking? This man alluring, handsome and mysterious? She was losing her mind. She decided not to look at him anymore but ended up seeing her tigress next to Shikamaru trying to get his attention. Nurai pawed at the scholar's back trying to get him to look at her and acknowledge her presence but he continued on reading. Taking a more direct approach the tigress rose up on her hind legs and placed her front paws on his shoulders allowed her full weight to rest on him. Amazingly he did not react to this nor did his knees buckle from the weight.

Nurai was not a small animal. Larger than the largest males of her species, she was 11 feet long and stood at 4 and a half feet and the shoulders weighting over 1000 pounds. For Shikamaru not to bow his knees meant that he was ferociously strong. This shocked not only Temari but Nurai herself who still could not get him to play with her. Resorting to more cutesy methods she began to rustle up against him like a house cat before dropping at his feet with her tail bouncing. She began letting out deep whines that sounded far more threatening and dangerous than what they meant. Finally out of all options but one Nurai lifted her head to lick at Shikamaru's left hand that was tucked into his pocket. Finally the scholar gave in and fished out a piece of tried deer meat and feed it to her as he scratched her head and chin. Nurai purred deeply very happy to have him pet her and even tilted her large head to reach the places she especially loved to have scratched.

This was the last straw for Temari. Nurai never acted like this to anyone other than her. Why did she trust him so much as if he was an old friend? Her judge in characters was impeccable and never wrong but Temari loathed Shikamaru. He was just horrible in her eyes, so what did Nurai see?

_Alluring...handsome...mysterious..._

She clenched her fists to the words that echoed in her mind and heart. No. She would not admit to that.

Her inner-conflict was emitting an aura that both Shikamaru and Nurai sensed causing them both to look at her.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

"Gom sho! (Get lost!") she snapped in the tongue of her ancestors. Shikamaru turned away and returned to his reading.

"Shoma kheyli mehrban hastid (You're very kind) he replied sarcastically. This made Temari spin like a top.

"Y-You can speak Farsi?!" she shouted, eyes and jaw open wide pointing at him with a sharp finger.

"Kami (Just a little)" he admitted. "Farsi e man bad ast. Man bayad Farsi ro bishtar tamrin konam (My Farsi is bad. I really need to practice it.)

The princess was completely shocked. He could speak and understand the ancient language of her people that only the people of Meşek could speak. He was just becoming more and more mysterious. "How do you know the tongue of my ancestors?" she asked standing up.

"I picked it up while reading old scrolls" he explained flipping through another old text. "Language has always been an important thing to me thus I learned as many as I could; both live and dead,"

"My I ask why?"

The scholar closed the book with one hand and sighed. "Language is more than just a way of communicating" he said dropping the book unto a pile of others that Temari had not noticed him stacking. "As not being able to speak is not the same as not speaking, language is not just man's way of communicating. Languages have stories and history. And when we forget them, we loss them forever. I want to avoid that at all costs. I've learned that whilst traversing the world. The more I see and hear, the more I want to see and hear."

The blond haired woman stared at him rather awestruck. She had not imagined him to speak so openheartedly and passionate. How could he change from being anti-social to being someone who wore their heart on their sleeve? It made no sense to her. But she knew asking him or telling him what she saw in him would not only be degrading to her but very much awkward.

"That's very nice and all but I have no interest in the rest of the world and even less about books" she said noticeably dropping her formality. "I'm more interested in fighting."

Shikamaru chuckled at this which made her grit her teeth as she knew why he was laughing. She wanted to crush him so temperately but she knew she stood no chance; especially not without her fan. Which reminded her…

"I want compensation for my fan that you broke" she demanded holding out her hand. Shikamaru looked at it for a brief moment before turning back to his studying.

"No."

"Afedersiniz? (Excuse me?) she asked.

"I said no."

"Why not?!"

"Your fan was a Maswo Ilake Tunkasila (Tools of the Great Spirit). I do not like such weapons. You either be a mage or be a warrior. You cannot be either whilst relying entirely on the opposing tools. It's half-assed and weak." (a/n: Shikamaru uses some interesting words here. "Maswo Ilake Tunkasila" pronounced mahs-woh ee-lah-kay duen-kahsh-ee–lah, translated literally means "Tools of the Great Spirit". However that is not what he means to say. He uses his native words for "Great Spirit" as a general term for Elder Magic. A better word would be "Sunka" but that refers to his native magical roots. Throughout the series individual characters will use words meaning Magic but meaning it in a general sense at the same time using another word for a form of magic used only by them and their people. Confusing I know but you'll get it in time XD).

Temari was once again surprised by his passion. Magic and armed combat seemed to matter to him in a different way than it did with her people. That it shouldn't be tampered with. It suited him to think in such as way only making her curiosity grow stronger. She had to learn more about him.

"Where are you from?" she asked as he reached for another book. The question caught him off guard making him look at her with a rather startled look. "You've been using words of a tongue I've never heard before. Your accent is strange not to mention the jewelry you wear are all covered in symbol that must mean very important things to your people. Where are you from?"

The scholar studied her for a moment before grinning slightly. "I thought you said before you had no interest in the rest of the world?" he asked slyly. This caused the young woman's cheek to go lightly pink in annoyance which made Shikamaru laugh. Knowing she had been outplayed and made a fool she folded her arms and rested against the book case, to which the young man could almost swear on his life she was pouting. Things remained quiet for a little while longer until he saw another book he wanted to reach but couldn't grab it as Temari was resting on it.

"Could you move please? I can't reach the next volume" he asked rather politely.

"Not till you tell me more about yourself" she replied straightly. He was avoiding her questions for now but she always got what she wanted no matter what it took.

"Alright."

Shikamaru turned to the princess and placed his hands under her armpits. He lifted her up as if she was as light as a feather and set her to the side before pulling off the following volume from the shelf and continued his reading. This caused Temari's eyes to become as wide as dinner plates and gasp at his actions.

"H-How dare you!" she shouted. "Moving me to the side like I'm a child! Who do you think you are?!"

To add insult to injury Shikamaru merely grunted and continued on reading. Unfortunately for him Temari was far from done with him. She managed to grab his collar and slam him into the bookcase, ready to give him a lecture the likes of which he had never seen. The scholar groaned more in annoyance than actual pain not expecting her to be so forceful and was about to mouth her off before she got a chance when he heard crying. He looked down and saw that it was none other than the blond woman, her head hanging so that all that was viable was her hair.

"Why?..." she said quietly, her voice trembling. "Why are you treating me…a princess…like any other woman?" Tears rolled down her face and fell at both their feet. "Ever since I was a child, I was treated differently. I had no friends nor was I allowed to make any thanks to my cruel bastard father! I just wanted to be treated like a normal woman and not be trapped. And you off all people…are finally giving me that." She managed to use her right hand to wipe her tears while Shikamaru watched her without speaking, not certain of what to say.

"I know I'm acting like a selfish child even though I'm a grown woman now. But…"

Before she could continue, the scholar placed a hand on her head.

"I'm sorry for laughing at you and for insulting your warrior's way" he said. "I apologize wholeheartedly as my people greatly respect and admire bravery; especially in women. I acted so apathetically because…well, I just don't like to reminisce about the past."

Temari, hearing a slight tremor in his voice looked up at him and saw his golden eyes were not as they were before. She saw they were filled with sadness and the same loneliness she felt all her life. Had he been like this as long as herself? His eyes said even longer. How could someone go one feeling such pain without having someone to rely on? What was his reason to keep going? She did not know nor did she have the strength to ask, but knew it must be more important than his own life. She reached up and placed her hand gently on his cheek, her finger tips brushing against an earring made of 5 black beads. They stared into each other eyes in silence hearing nothing but the torches burning and their own light breathing. They remained this way for over a minute not realizing that time was still moving, until Temari spoke up.

"Do you…want some kahve? (coffee)" she asked.

"Ha'n (Yes)" he said softly, suddenly felling very tired.

xXx

They had walked for short while till they reached the southern part of the rock where Temari had revealed a secret entrance. She brought him to a large secret chamber lit with magic lanterns that produced light of the sun. This was important as the chamber floor was made of grass and a large assortment of flowers surrounded by fresh water. The princess explained that this was her "secret garden" her mother had built for her as a birthday gift when she turned 6. It was a true oasis from the scorching heat of the Ocean of Fire and Shikamaru, though better than most when it came to dealing with the heat, was thankful for its refreshing properties.

While Nurai enjoyed a drink from the pond, Temari showed the scholar the opposite side of the chamber that had a small kitchen, table set and a small stairway to a bedroom. She sat him down and began to brew a few cups of kahve for the both of them. From where he sat, Shikamaru watched her carefully. Despite her birth right of royalty and desire for combat, in front of that small stove, she actually appeared to be a woman. Even though she was back in her battle attire, he had to admit she was a rather beautiful young woman. It surprised him slightly that she was not married even with the fact she was only older than him by a couple of years (if his intuition was correct). Strangely, he found her more attractive in those clothes than the extravagant dress she wore at the dinner.

He shook his head trying to get the thought as Temari brought the kettle and a pair of cups to the table. She poured the kahve in both cups and placed one in front of the black haired young man before taking her seat.

"I should warn you, kahve is rather strong" she said taking a sip.

Shikamaru lifted his cup to his lips and took a sip of his own, giving himself then a moment to savor its taste.

"It's good" he said honestly before taking another sip. Temari smiled both happy he was enjoying it and that he wasn't fazed by it as most outsiders did.

"I want to apologize for how I acted earlier" she said.

"You acted accordingly. It was my fault."

"Maybe…but how about we start over?" she asked extending her hand. "Merhaba, benim adim Temari oldugunu (Hello, my name is Temari)."

The scholar looked at her hand for a moment before talking it. "Sho'daache. Shikamaru emaciyapi (Hello. I'm called Shikamaru)".

"Where are you from?"

"Not this again!"

"Ortak oh! (Oh common)" she said playfully "Why can't you tell me?"

The scholar sighed as she was becoming annoying again but decided to out play her rather than argue. "I'll tell you if you tell me what happed to the late king."

Immediately, Temari went silent. She looked down at her coffee and stared at its darkness, making Shikamaru worry that he had overstepped the line. He should have asked something else like "If you make me something to eat" or something else on those lines. But amazingly, he got an answer.

"My father…the king…made his youngest child his heir because he believed that Gaara was just like him in looks and way of thinking" she began not looking up. "But my little brother is not so cruel. Our father mistook his reclusive personality as coldness and it cost him. The king had been doing some secret dealings with a man he called 'Koyu Imparator' (The Dark Emperor) and trusted Gaara with this knowledge. But my brother was and still is a man of honor and confronted the king face to face bringing him to his knees. He exposed him and his dealing to the people and asked them for what should be done. The whole city was silent for a few agonizing moment before they all began to yell "Put him to death! Hail Gaara King of Mesek!" and that was his first order as king. He left our father to die in the desert and to be eaten by Olum Solucan (Death Worms). Thanks to my brother's hard work this city has become strong again, now free of the tyrant who ruled before."

"Do you have any idea who this Dark Emperor is?"

"No. Gaara tried to get the information from him before he was killed but he took that secret to the grave."

There was then a few moments of silence once more, as there was nothing else for Temari to say, and Shikamaru had nothing more to ask. The scholar then took a breath.

"I am from Vanaheim" he said. Temari laughed.

"Liar! I know the trade routes near that part of the East and there are no settlements there. Nothing but miles of thick forests, tall mountains and tales of mystery. Not to mention it is highly magically active. There aren't any people living there so there is no way you are from Vanaheim."

"I'm telling you it's true" he reassured her.

"Fine fine you have no intention of telling me where you are from. I give up" she said throwing her hands in the air.

"I'm telling the truth. I am in fact from Vanaheim. It is where I was born and where I learned magic" he explained. "You said yourself it was magically active and it's true. There is no place in all the 9 Worlds of Lore that is so magical or a better place to learn magic. It's also called 'The Wizard's Haven' for that reason."

"Speaking of wizards, tell me about them."

"Tell you what?"

"What's it like being a mage? What is magic like? That sort of thing."

Skikamaru paused for a moment and leaned back into his chair thinking of a good answer for the princess. After talking few sips of his kahve, he came up with something.

"How about this…" he said fishing out a long slim polished wooden pipe with the bowl of the pipe held by a crow foot and the shank adorned with feathers. He placed some tobacco in the bowl and lit it, taking a long drag and releasing the smoke slowly causing it to turn into trees. "Mages, wizards, witches, druids, shamans and witchdoctors are those who are closest to nature which is in fact the very source of magic; the air, the earth, the water, the trees, the animals and so forth. We use magic to help nature as it in turn helps us. We gather knowledge to benefit all remaining in tune with what many do not see. Some choose to become hermits, devoting all their time to Magia and learning its secrets, while most become town wizards forming guilds and aiding the places they were born. Some become traveling mages helping people as they go or settling down to teach magic to those who wish to learn."

He paused for a moment to take another drag of his pipe and blew out different kinds of animal, from birds to deer to rabbits to horses. "Magic requires a lot of responsibility and discipline. It is power, no one can deny, and power without control or restraint is destructive. The Council of Wizards keeps a close eye on those who abuse magic; directly or indirectly. Those who are found and convicted are punished severally. But magic is not to be feared. It is beautiful, kind and all around us."

Using his left hand while the other held his pipe, he began to turn it above his cup and lifted the kahve in a perfect orb of liquid. Temari's eyes went wide with amazement as the scholar made the orb float around the table for her to see. Her large eyes followed it like a curious cat with wonder never before seeing magic used in such a way. Unbeknownst to her this made Shikamaru look at her eyes and see the wonder and curiosity. They were no longer those of a warrior but of a young woman who wanted to learn more and it surprised him greatly. Her mouth had turned from a grimace to a half open smile and her cheeks were slightly pink from the excitement. There was only one word he could think of to describe the sight before him. Beautiful.

This unfortunately broke his concentration and caused the orb of still hot kahve to fall onto his hand and obviously burn it.

"Ah! Here!" said Temari quickly grabbing a pitcher of cool water and placed his hand in it. "Well that's what you get for showing off."

The scolding wasn't called for but it was clear it was more playful than anything. Shikamaru said nothing as she tended to his hand. For some reason, he could not feel any pain as her fingers held his hand bellow that water. He felt his heart skip a beat as she lifted his hand out and dried it with a towel.

"It doesn't look like there's a bad burn. The kahve cooled down enough I guess."

Once again he said nothing and only looked at her, trying to figure out what he was feeling. When she noticed he wasn't speaking she looked at him and became trapped in his gaze. What had happened? His golden eyes had once again changed to the ones that revealed the sadness in his heart. But this time there was more. There seemed to be longing in those eyes and a warmth that she had only seen in the eyes of Matsuri when she looked at Gaara. Those golden eyes made her heart beat strongly and an odd tingling sensation began to pulse across her body. What was happening?

Neither of them understood what they were feeling but they knew they both felt it and had no control. Their bodies seemed to gravitate towards each other slowly, causing their hearts to beat even stronger. They drifted closer, and soon, their lips gently touched. Their minds seemed to go blank as they were not able to think. They weren't trying to figure out why they were kissing and why they were feeling the way they did but only acted on the newly found desire for more.

But they slowly broke apart and opened their eyes to see each other's warm complexions. They knew they were thinking the same things as if they shared each other's minds and hearts. Temari's large eyes drifted to the right causing Shikamaru to do the same. He saw she was looking at the small stairway that led to the spare bedroom. He understood what thought had crossed her mind and stood up. He slipped his right hand under her knees and picked her up bridal style without saying a word before walking up the steps. Temari also remained silent as she held onto him with her arms around his strong neck.

When they reached the bed, they gazed at each other with continued longing. Their lips met deeply once more as the young man laid the princess on the bed. Her arms remained wrapped around his neck as her hands felt his hair. Shikamaru's right hand stroked her side while his left supported himself over her as not to fall. As Temari stroked his cheek, Shikamaru's right hand traveled down her body, past her wide hip and to the smooth skin of her exposed tanned thigh. He rubbed it slowly, taking in her warmth and velvety touch before moving lower to under her knee where he lifted her leg, allowing himself to move between them. This made the princess moan and open her mouth giving the scholar an opportunity to slide his tongue past her lips. It caught Temari by surprise but quickly realized that this was much better than before and even slid out her own tongue. She moaned once more but did even more so when he moaned back.

When Shikamaru broke the kiss the young woman whined in annoyance but stopped when he began kissing her neck. As he tasted her nape, his hand began to undo and remove her clothes. Though unfamiliar with such wear he managed to successfully remove it revealing the woman's bare chest and stomach. Her breasts were an impressive GG with small round pink nipples. Despite their size, her breasts did not sag any more than gravity ordered them to do so. He strangely found them almost as interesting as they were beautiful. This was surely due to their tan color as he had never bed down before with a woman with such skin. This thought also brought upon him a small feeling of guilt, though he yet did not truly understand why. He urgently wanted to caress them but first decided to make things even. He stood on his knees and began to remove his own clothes as Temari opened her eyes wanting to know why her time of bliss had been interrupted. She was surprised with what she saw.

Before her was the scholar wearing nothing but his pants, revealing his chiseled body. It was a bit dark in her bedroom but she could clearly make out the toned muscle that surely took him great dedication to achieve, and scars from battles past. The sight of him caused a new sensation to burn within her; especially in her belly. Up until now she had never truly had an interest in men. She found relationships too complicated and time consuming, and found it more worth her while to focus on combat training. Of course it was a foolish decision as her nation was in a time of total peace and now was the best time to find a lover. But what actually made her think differently on the matter was when she learned of Matsuri's feelings for her brother. She saw the desire, the hope, the heart, the love, and it made her wonder what it would be like to have that. Right now, she had that chance to experience it.

Now free to continue, Shikamaru leaned back down and kissed Temari once again, pressing his body onto hers to deepen the kiss. Temari's heart jumped at the sensation of his bare chest pressing onto hers, allowing her to feel his warmth. But what truly made her feel taut was that she could feel his heart pounding in his strong chest, letting her know he felt the same as herself. She couldn't yet understand why it felt so good or why knowing this made her so happy she was near to tears, but she prayed to the gods it would not end. Lucky for her they heard her prayers and Shikamaru began to move along and began directing his attention to her breasts. He began to kiss them and fondle them, showing them the same care and affection he gave to her lips. Temari moaned in pleasure, his touch making her mounds tingle and her small nipples harden as she gripped his head tightly telling him to continue. Kissing as he moved Shikamaru gently placed his lips on her left nipple and slowly began to tease it. The princess moaned as her new lover's tongue rolled over her sensitive pebble as he groped and played with the other with his free hand. She never felt so good before as well as never knowing her breasts could grant her such pleasure. Was is possible Shikamaru making her feel this good or was it the fact _he _was the one fondling her?

Though uncertain whether if it was fortunate or unfortunate, his touch would not let her think straight, leaving her completely at his mercy. He began to press his mouth harder onto her breast making it squish and jiggle. His new vigor was making the princess squirm with pleasure and breath heavily, moaning in his ear making him continue. Temari then began to notice that her loins were on fire and moist; and it was not from the sweat that had began to bead across her body. Though not familiar with relationships and love, she sure knew sexual drive and she needed relief. Luckily for her Shikamaru could feel her needs and used his free hand to snake down her body and began to rub her womanhood. Immediately her back arced from both surprise and pleasure. She clutched onto him as she moaned, too aroused from his kisses and fondling that a slight touch on her flower sent waves of pleasure across her body. He rubbed her slowly but deeply, searching for what she enjoyed most whilst never forgetting about her breasts and lips.

Temari had had enough. Her womanhood was beginning to pulse and she knew she was soon going to go over the edge into sheer bliss. But to her confusion, the scholar stopped. She was going to protest but kept her mouth closed when Shikamaru began removing the last part of her clothes revealing her bottom half. His hand traveled over her smooth curvaceous rear as he peeled off her undergarments. It was then the scholar took a moment to admire the bewitching creature before him; now fully nude he could see her in her entirety. Her foxy face, her magnificent breasts, her radiant skin, her alluring hips, her strong thick thighs, smooth calves and adorable feet. She was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. How could she be even more dazzling? He found his answer as his sharp eyes could make out the young woman's dripping jewel hiding between her legs.

"You're so beautiful" he heard himself say.

"Thank you" Temari said her cheeks red from arousal and happiness. "You're pretty good looking yourself."

Her words made the mage grin and couldn't help himself to another kiss before moving down her body to her heat to finish what he started; kissing every part of her along the way. He began to kiss it, lick it, breath on it, nuzzle it and suck on it gently making his woman cry out in ecstasy. He tasted her lips and moaning at her flavor, sliding in his tongue for more. Temari wrapped her legs around his head along with both her hands needing to hold onto something for support before she exploded. Shikamaru could tell she couldn't go on for much longer and decided to go in for the kill. He pulled out his tongue and began to flick and tease her clitoris that had revealed itself right under her hood. The princess cried out as she finally climaxed, her muscles clamping and her womanhood singing in joy. She collapsed back onto the bed as her orgasm waved across her making her body tremble. Shimakaru watched her and felt a very warm feeling in his heart as he looked about her face full of happiness and pleasure.

Taking advantage of her needing to catch her breath, the scholar fished out a familiar brown leather pouch. It was filled with freshly made Passion Powder and now was that best time to use it. When Naruto and the others had found out about this aphrodisiac he had been ridiculed saying he needed it to please a woman because he could not. They of course did not know its purpose. Passion Powder was as much an aphrodisiac for men as it was for women, and so much more. For women, it made losing their virginity far less painful, which was the primary reason he had used it in the past. For Temari, he would use it all if it meant she would feel no pain. He placed two fingers inside the pouch to take a small amount and began to rub in on and in the woman's heat. She moaned lightly at this still sensitive from her climax and couldn't help smiling sexily that he was hungry for more like she was. She slowly opened her eyes to see his eager face and body but saw a sight she never imagined.

Shikamaru had removed his pants and undergarments revealing his hard manhood. She had never seen one before and it was more appealing than she thought. In fact, the young man looked truly arousing in the nude making her bit her bottom lip; especially with his hair down. His what? The princess then looked at her right hand to see his eagle hair tie that she must had pulled off during her orgasm. The couple were both surprised as neither of them had noticed but returned their attention to their naked selves.

"You look really good" complimented Temari.

"Thanks."

"Does it hurt?" she asked pointing at his twitching rod. He looked down and realized that he was in fact feeling a bit of an ache but that was probably due to the fact he had never been so hard before. Before he could say anything Temari placed her hand on his piece making him jump.

"Wow it's really hard" she said gripping it strongly. Shikamaru's heart began to pound and race as if it was his first time. What has going on? Why was she affecting him this way? He wanted her so desperately but wanted to run from her at the same time. He wanted to sit down and figure it all out but was stopped by the princess beginning to pump him. He couldn't hold back a moan and weakly placed a hand upon her shoulder.

"Where…did you learn to do this?" he asked needing to know. His words made her stop and look away slightly embarrassed.

"When I was 12 I was hiding in the grand library I found a book about sex and how to pleasure oneself and your lover. I was never interested but this was always stuck in my mind."

Shikamaru smiled and was about to tease her when she returned to pumping him making him inhale sharply. He could already feel his member throbbing wanting to release but he knew he had to hold it in. One of the effects of the Passion Powder was to boost arousal and maintain that arousal for a long time. He never had the chance to apply the powder to himself and he knew he would need to. But he couldn't reach it nor was he able to think clearly any longer. He pushed Temari onto her and kissed her passionately before she could protest. Their bodies pressed together leaving no space between them. The princess unconsciously wrapped her arms and legs around her lover's body melting into the kiss but stopped when she felt his member pressing on her.

"You're poking me" she said in his ear seductively. "But in the wrong spot." The scholar groaned and knew he needed relief and thanked the gods she knew it and felt the same. He pulled back and positioned himself between her thick creamy moka thighs. He aimed his member at her entrance that was dripping with her aroused juices. He looked at her in the eye and saw she wanted him to go on which he did by pressing the tip of his manhood into her hood, past it and all the way till he was buried to the hilt. Temari gasped as her insides stretched to accommodate his 6 inch strong masculinity for the first time and did not even feel the pain of losing her virginity. Shikamaru knew this as well and was glad his Passion Powder had done its job, but was worried he would climax too soon as her tight womanhood and moaning rocked him to the very core. He took it all as slow as he could and began to kiss Temari to relax both her and him. When he found himself a steady platform he began to trust in her.

They both moaned in pleasure, shutting their eyes out of fruition and began to move as one. Temari gasped out in ecstasy and rolled her head on her pillow almost bucking with her lover.

"I never knew…ah ah…it would feel so…so…ahh! Good!" she cried. The scholar couldn't hold back a smile of relief and content as he, as if it was his first time, was afraid he could not please her. He began to thrust with more vigor and confidence bringing them both to a new level of pleasure. They gasped, cried and moaned as one, wanting more but never wanting it to end. Every time Shikamaru's manhood reentered Temari's wet womanhood they both breathed loudly mixed with a rough moan which echoed in the small stone bedroom. Joining them in their symphony of love was the wet sounds of sex that rung in their ears like bells in a tower. Their hips slapping rhythmically together existing them so much that Temari had wrapped her legs once again around the man's hips and Shikamaru returned to her breasts, sucking on one of her erect nipple as his hands held up her hips by the small of her back. This caused Temari to moan even louder almost out of fear that it felt so incredibly good.

The scholar was also feeling a slight portion of fear but its source was that he would feel his climax catching up on him, building like a volcano. He wanted to hold on until she came first but he no longer had any control of his body. He began to thrust faster almost desperately, wanting to release and achieve Nirvana. It was a selfish act but he felt as if he would lose his mind. But it would seem that the Gods of Fertility and Lovemaking were with him as Temari began to cry out.

"N-No! ahh ahh! Oh no don't!" she half screamed as she could feel her belly erupting. "No more! I'm gonna cum again! I'm gonna cum!"

Her words settled the guilt and worry in his heart and began to give her everything he had to make her first sex orgasm the grandest thing she had ever felt. He angled himself as best he could to hit her g-spot with his helmet as well as her clitoris. He knew he had succeeded when Temari clamped down onto him making her already tight womanhood even more so. He could no longer hold back and finally released his seed into her but did so with only bliss and euphoric pleasure as Temari joined him. She cried out to the gods with eyes shut tight but not tight enough to stop the tears of pleasure from rolling down her cheeks. She could feel his cum pour inside her as she orgasmed like she had never done before. She now understood why people searched for love and desired sex. It was a way to be say things without words that meant more that a whole book's worth. She was happy to experience it and forever grateful to the gods for letting her encounter the scholar.

Shikamaru collapsed on top of Temari exhausted. He had never been so weary like this after sex. But then again, he had never encountered a woman like Temari before. Was this a message from the gods? Was their meeting fated? He did not know but he was grateful, as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

"That was…amazing" sighed the princess smiling.

"Same here. I've had many partners and I've never had such incredible sex" he admitted once again feeling guilty. Temari looked at him with a fragment of jealousy in her heart but was flattered that she out shined those who he had bedded down with before.

"Thanks for the compliment. You're better than my hand I must say" she replied with a grin. Shikamaru couldn't help laughing at her and kissed her while stroking her cheek. Temari happily kissed back but then moaned and it was not due to the kiss.

"Looks like you're ready to go for another round" she said indicating his stiff member that was still inside her.

"Maybe" he said rather honestly instead of boasting. His member maybe ready but he was not. He had given his all for her and despite all his experience it barely got him to the end. Temari was a whole lot of woman and a very rare gem in this realm. This might as well have been his first time as his knowledge had left his mind for most of their intimacy. To his surprise and amazement, Temari rolled over so that she was on top of him, her legs from the knees down tucked in beside her lover's thighs.

"Well I am" she said with a confident grin. "You said that you had never had such good sex before and I'm sure that's because you've never fucked a woman trained to a warrior with high stamina. If only your ejderha is ready, I'll take the lead, as payback for earlier." (Ejderha means dragon but this spelling of the word is more of a euphemism for penis XD).

Shikamaru just stared at her in shock and with a look of strange arousal. Temari began to ride him rolling her hips making his "dragon" slide in and out of her wet womanhood. She placed her hands on his hard abs for support as she wanted to be a bit rougher than he had been during their first round. She smiled and moaned as she grinded and bucked on the scholar feeling the pleasure of sex washing over her. She clenched her taut but slightly bouncy rear every time she thrust her hips that Shikamaru felt rub against him adding to his arousal, along with Temari curling her toes in pleasure. He unconsciously had grasped onto the young woman's calves which not only made him even more turned on by feeling her warm smooth skin, but giving the princess more traction to increase the force and speed of her thrusts. They moaned and cried in ecstasy in unison which once gain reverberated off the walls. It gave Shikamaru renewed strength allowing him to reach up and grab her large breasts that bounced as she did onto his rock hard member.

"Yes! Yes!" she cried falling on top of the scholar's chest which her mound pressing onto him. "I love it! I love it!"

"I love you" was what she wanted to say but did not dare. She could not admit to him or even herself that she was falling in love with him. Whether it was due to the fear of first love or the knowledge that by tomorrow he would be gone forever she knew that the words would never get past her lips. Instead she placed her lips onto his to avoid an outburst of emotion. If she could not love by telling him, she would love him with her body. She forgot about tomorrow so she could live today. She wrapped her arms around his neck pulled herself even closer to which the scholar placed his hands on her wide hips pushing her harder on his member. Their tongues battled to dominance in their kiss forcing them to breathe heavily through their noses. Their hot sweaty bodies were pressed so close together it was if they were trying to merge into one. But they had; if only in spirit.

Their second round was so much more than their first and they were already closing in to climax and did so once again in unison. They moaned loudly in each other's mouths before the waves of pleasure overtook them and forced them to rest in a sound sleep of bliss and love.

xXx

The couple laid beside each other for a few moments to catch their breath and rest. Shikamaru had his right around the princess as she had her head resting on his pec and her right-hand right bellow. They didn't say a word as they rested and only listened to their breathing and the quiet night. They enjoyed its serenity and each other's warmth. Temari opened her eyes and noticed her new lover's face, wearing a very pleased smile and closed eyes. She couldn't help smiling herself as his smile warmed her heart along with his strong chest rising and falling below her cheek. She could hear his heart and his very soul speak to her. She couldn't explain why she was so happy but she wished for it to never end.

Then she noticed something in the corner of her eye, specifically on the man's right pec. There was a blue and black tattoo of a coyote with black feathers in its fur. She then noticed he had several tattoos all of different animals. Where these more indications of his secret culture and people in Vanaheim?

"What do your tattoos mean?" she asked. Her question caused the scholar to stir and look at her.

"These?" he said as he pointed at his chest. "This is Coyote."

"I know it's a coyote I'm asking what it means."

"No not A coyote, Coyote" he corrected. "My people call him Isaahkawuatte. He is the trickster creator god who made my people many winters ago like the Crow."

"This one?" Temari asked touching the tattoo above his heart.

"Yes. The crow is wise and clever. They see all and report the worlds' tidings to many gods."

"And this one?" she said touching a tattoo of a horse on his left bicep.

"The Spirit Horse is strong, powerful, noble and free. They ride across the land beside my people like brothers and sisters."

"And this one?" she touched on his right bicep.

"Wakį́yą: The Thunder Bird. The servant of the Great Spirit and a creature whose wrath is to be feared. Raining thunder and wind, there is no greater beast in the sky."

"Like the Rukh." (or as most might know him as Roc).

"Yes. These along with the rest of my tattoos are all of animals and symbols of my people that are of great importance." Shikamaru then laughed at his own words realizing something rather important. "No outsider has ever learned this about us nor have they even known of our existence. But I feel that I can tell you these things without fear. Because of this, I want to tell you something I have not told anyone."

"What is it?" Temari asked, his words making her heart beat a little faster.

"My real name."

His answer made the princess raise her eyebrows in surprise, not expecting this. "Your real name? It isn't Shikamaru?"

"No, that name was given to me by a librarian who took me in years ago. This is my real name" he said before tilting his head to whisper it in her ear. When he finished, she could not help smiling.

"It suits you better. It's a beautiful name."

"You think so?"

"Evet…" she replied before leaning in to whisper his name back to him in his ear in a seductive manner in order to arouse him. Needless to say, it worked.

xXx

The following morning, the entire group minus Shikamaru had gathered before the large city gates next to several çöl yük vagonu. Gaara himself was present to wish them farewell as they were about to take their next leg across the Ocean of Fire. But of course they could not go anywhere without their scholar and he was nowhere in sight. Men had been sent to his room to wake him but it was quickly learned that he was not there along with the curious fact his bed had not even been slept in.

This did not make his friends happy as they had become annoyed by his lateness. Kiba constantly muttered under his breath he would string Shikamaru up the second he showed up while the others twiddled their thumbs. Hinata was genuinely worried about him and looked over to Naruto for some sort of reassurance or an answer. But to her surprise, the blond was rather calm even borderline happy as if he was hiding something. Hinata was about to press him for that information when the man of the hour appeared in a swirl of black feathers. Immediately Kiba jumped to yell at him but stopped in his tracks along with all those present.

His night black hair was no longer tied in his iconic ponytail but left to hang past his shoulders and down the sides of his face. This was new to the group and more so to Hinata who felt no choice but admitting to herself he was rather attractive. But it was the look on his face that surprised them most. He was smiling in a way he had never done before. It was a smile of totally happiness that only those in fairy tales could have and it made the regular gloom that hung over him be replaced with radiant spirit.

"Sorry I'm late" the scholar apologized waving his hand, "I was busy with important matters."

"Jeg ser at Frøya har kastet sin magi over deg, broder! ("I see that Freya has cast a spell upon you, brother!)" shouted Naruto happily. When all the tanned young man did was smile back the blond laughed heartily. "Now that we are all here at last, it is time to say our goodbyes old friend."

"Evet, but I pray it shall not be a final goodbye arkadaşım" said Gaara with an almost sad smile. "May the gods be with you on your journey."

"I wish the same unto you min venn."

"My men shall take you to the edge of the Foresta del Unicorno (Forest of the Unicorn). After that, you must continue on your journey alone."

"Understood. Thanks again old friend."

"Your thanks is not needed. My doors are always opened to you. May we meet again."

"We will. In this life or the next."

The two warriors shared one final hand shake and an embrace before departing. Naruto climbed back into one of the desert wagons and saluted the king with his hand on his temple before the wagon began pulling him and his men away. Hinata waved goodbye to Matsuri and wished her good luck which only they knew what she was specifically refereeing to. In the back of the wagon Shikamaru laid on his back with his eyes closed thinking about the past day's events. He felt a twinge of pain in his heart but he knew things could not be changed. But then from afar he heard her voice.

"Shiakamaru!" shouted Temari running from the gates of the city. In her left hand she held his hair tie and in her right hand she held a piece of parchment. As she watched the wagons pulled away she could hear his words echoing through her mind.

"_Temari, I am sorry we must part after knowing each other for a short time but I must continue on the path that has been laid before me. Though I know it is a coward's way of escaping by telling you this in a letter, I must admit I cannot face you yet. I could not admit even to myself at first that it pains me to leave you, but it pains me even more for not being able to say it with my own lips. You may hate me for this and you have the right to, but please remember that the short time we spent together meant more to me than anything I have known. I hope that one day we shall meet again, and I can show you my home and everything that I hold dear for us to share. _

_I leave you my eagle hair tie as a gift for you to remember me by. It was a gift from my mother and all I have left of her but I know you will look after it with care. If we somehow do not see each other again, I want t you to know that…" _

Temari filled her lungs with a deep breath as the last few words of his letter gave her the strength to say what she could not before.

"Techihhila!" she shouted across the sands. She put her whole heart and soul into that one word and hoped that it reached it ears. Being so far from him she could not know but in the wagon, Shikamaru began to smile. Using his magic, he whispered the word back to her.

"Techihhila."

_I love you._

* * *

Next Chapter: Festival of Love and Song_  
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